Chandigarh, Sep 11 || As water from most of the marooned villages in Punjab has started receding and the communities impacted by catastrophic floods are provided with relief material to support daily living, what they need now is long-term rehabilitation, besides medical care to prevent health issues.
Field reports indicate a notable spike in the transmission of water and vector-borne diseases, such as typhoid, cholera, and malaria, among others.
Also, there is a rise in snakebite cases. Carcasses of hundreds of animals, including buffalo and hens, are now piled up in the village's farms, posing outbreaks of disease and economic damage.
Numerous non-profit organisations have been advocating good hygienic practices and safe food preparation techniques by educating communities, largely rural, not to use flood water to wash dishes, brush teeth or wash and prepare food.
The sudden water releases from major dams, Bhakra, Pong and Ranjit Sagar, after days of heavy rain in hilly areas, resulted in flooding in the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi rivers downstream, breaching canals' embankments, and ruining matured paddy saplings.