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Take a dip at your own peril

Staff Reporter

Photo: Lingaraj Panda

INVITING TROUBLE: A group of boys having a gala time at a tank in Berhampur.

BERHAMPUR: Few can withstand the desire to splash in the cool waters of a pond in summer. But medical experts say it will be a dip into cauldron of diseases if one dares it in Berhampur.

This city boasts of having more than 20 large tanks and ponds in and around it. These have survived urbanisation as many tanks have vanished to provide space for concrete structures. None of them has any perennial groundwater recharging source. The canals that connect them for recharging have vanished from the city map. Now, they are deposited water sources surrounded by embankments. It makes them more prone to drastic pollution and contamination. Gone are the days when people of all economic strata used these tanks for fun during summer, says Sudhir Behera. Now, out of dire compulsion, people from poor families use these tanks in this water scarce city.

"But people using these tanks face several health hazards, ranging from skin to gastro-intestinal diseases," says Uma Shankar Mishra of Medicine Department of MKCG Medical College. Abundance of vehicle repair units near these tanks has increased harmful chemical content in water. Regular contact with it can lead to severe dermatitis.

Unhygienic practice

With decline of water level during summer months, these tanks, which are also connected to drains at many places, the pathogenic bacteriological content of water also rises. Mr. Mishra says it is the reason behind increase of scabies and different kinds of eczema among people using these tanks. Open defecation still continues near tanks like Bijipur tank though public latrines are nearby.

Buffaloes are also washed in some of the tanks as they still co-exist with humans in this city. Users of these tanks are prone to faeco-oral contaminations that lead to gastro-intestinal diseases along with guinea worm infection that lives under the skin. Till the administration comes up with measures to clean up and maintain these water bodies, public awareness can at least decrease the contamination of these tanks, feels Mr. Mishra.

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