NEW DELHI, 28 July 2004 — As floodwaters began to recede in the northeastern Indian state of Assam and the eastern state of Bihar yesterday, government officials warned of the threat of water-borne diseases in ill-equipped relief camps.
Touring Bihar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned that millions of people in one of the country’s poorest states could face disease and hunger in the wake of the flooding. “The threat of epidemic spreading is real,” he told a news conference, ordering a team of government doctors to visit the region.
At least 630 people are now confirmed dead in the two worst-affected Indian states of Bihar, in the east, and Assam in the northeast.
In Bihar, state relief minister Ram Vichar Rai said more than 320 bodies had been found in remote areas in the last 72 hours and he said the toll could rise sharply.
Manmohan flew over marooned parts of northern Bihar. He said the floods had caused massive damage and left a crisis in their wake. “We must ensure people do not die of hunger, we will have to construct houses and ensure farmers are taken care of,” he said.
In Bihar’s Samastipur village, residents rely on boats and swimming to get from place to place, and balance themselves on unstable rooftops to wait for food to be airdropped by the Indian Air Force.
A week ago Manmohan flew over Assam and earmarked 1.01 billion rupees (around $22 million) for relief measures. He also announced the launch of a federal task force that has six months to find a permanent solution to the northeast’s recurring floods.
“There is an acute scarcity of baby food and over 500,000 babies affected during the floods are starving,” Assam Health Minister Bhumidhar Burman said. Many of them will die unless emergency supplies are rushed in.
More than 200 doctors and paramedics had been called in to battle disease, he told Reuters.
Last July Assam suffered one of its worst floods in 50 years, and a proposal was sent to the federal government to declare the floods a national problem. Bloated animal carcasses buzzing with flies float along what were once roads in Assam.
Many children, some who live in the 1,800 relief camps or simply in the open air, are already suffering from gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, dysentery and hepatitis.
Barman warned of a massive cholera outbreak because drinking water sources were polluted by flood water, even though the federal government and UNICEF have provided 400,000 water-purifying tablets in the last two weeks.
In Assam the army has deployed more than 30 contingents and 75 motorboats, and the air force has 10 helicopters engaged in relief operations, the UNI news agency reported.
In the state’s Kaziranga National Park, efforts were being made to rescue stranded and traumatized animals, a statement from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), a leading conservation organization, said. The worst flooding in the park in 20 years has completely submerged a 430 square-kilometer area, forcing animals into the highlands where they are vulnerable to poachers and highway traffic.
Kaziranga is home to the famous and endangered one-horned rhino. The rescued animals include a three-day-old leopard that is being fed milk through a bottle, and a two-month old rhino baby.
