Chandigarh August 19: The Health Minister Punjab Prof. Lakshmi Kanta Chawla today directed all the civil surgeons to take immediate steps to control the outbreak of water borne diseases especially in the flood affected areas of the state. Funds amounting to Rupees One Crore, Seven lakh and Sixty Thousand have been allocated to all the Civil Surgeons in the State for Medicines, Insecticidal Spray and POL (Petrol Oil Lubricants, said the minister.
In a statement issued here today, the minister said that the medicines required for water borne diseases, skin diseases, respiratory infections, malaria and insect bites have been made available in abundance in all the hospitals of Punjab . She further asked the officers at the districts headquarters to remain ready and vigilant for any emergent situation. The emergency drugs should be procured and kept ready all the time, said the minister. Control Rooms have also been established at District H..Qs and at Sub-divisional levels. Static and Mobile medical teams fully equipped ambulances, Medicines and life saving drugs and equipments have been constituted and stationed at vulnerable points.
To ensure safe drinking water to the people in the affected areas, the minister said that adequate number of samples of drinking water have been taken for analysis in the identified flood affected areas. Chlorination of drinking water would be ensured. Large number of chlorine tablets have been made available in the stocks of civil surgeons for distribution in flood affected areas as well as rural areas during the rainy season to check water borne diseases, said Prof. Chawla. Although the flood situation was well under control but still as a precautionary measure casual leaves of all Medical and Para-medical staff have been cancelled in the flood prone areas till further orders and all the staff has been put on Red Alert and have been ordered not to leave headquarter, She said.