In the neighboring village, about 600 meters southwest of Sada Tole, where 27 extremely poor families from the Sada community live, no one in their house has a toilet. Diarrhea is currently spreading in the poverty-stricken village.
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Three people, including two children, have died of cholera in Sada Tol of Chhinnamasta-5, Saptari. The number of patients suffering from diarrhea is increasing in the settlement. Initially, cholera was confirmed in 5 of the 9 people who underwent RDT (Rapid Diagnostic Test) and culture tests. There are only three toilets in this settlement, which has 90 families, and there is not a single toilet in the three tols.
About 600 meters southwest of Sada Tole, in the neighboring tole where 27 extremely poor families of the Sada community live, no one in their house has a toilet. Diarrhea is currently spreading in the poverty-stricken tole.
They earn their living by working as laborers and are not in a position to seek treatment when they fall ill. Five years ago, 62-year-old Samatoliya Devi of the same tole lost the use of her left hand. Due to lack of funds, immediate treatment was not possible. After her eldest son Shankar and younger son Shivnarayan, who had gone to India to work as laborers, returned home, Samatoliya Devi was taken to the village clinic after a month and a half. When she did not recover, she was taken to Kharaiya, Bihar, India, for treatment, and the brothers' earnings of 17,000 rupees were exhausted.
Shivnarayan, who had barely made ends meet after not being able to work for three days, expressed his grief. Later, when they started getting work, their daily lives became easier. However, less than a year after spending all the money she had for treatment, Samatoliya Devi started having the same problem again.
She has been spending her quarterly old age allowance on medicine and food. Now, the left side of her body has stopped moving. Samatoliya Devi has been bedridden for four years. ‘My mother has not been able to earn a living due to this condition,’ said Shivnarayan.
Due to illiteracy and lack of income, the condition of the residents of the village has not improved. Most of the children in the village do not go to school. It is customary for children to get married before they reach puberty in this community. Ward Chairman Jayaprakash Thakur said that the residents of the village have not been able to become financially strong because they are spending too much money on food and drink.
‘They work hard all day and in the evening they spend all the money they earn on bad food (alcohol)’, he said, ‘When parents do that, children also imitate them.’ Ward Chairman Thakur said that it is difficult to change their behavior even if they want to. ‘They are not interested in going to school, they get married before reaching the age and when their responsibilities increase, they go to Punjab and Mumbai to work as laborers’, he added.
Cholera bacteria in pond and river water
Cholera bacteria have been found in the pond and Bhaluwahi river water used by the residents of Sada Tol for bathing and washing dishes. The rural municipality, in collaboration with the health office, had sent samples of water from the pond, pond and river to the State Public Health Laboratory in Janakpur for testing last Wednesday.
When the report came on Saturday, the village health department chief, Senior Ahab Dipendra Prasad Yadav, said that cholera bacteria were found in the water of the pond and the Bhaluwahi river. “We are alerting the locals not to wash dishes in the pond and the river and not to use the water there in any way,” he said. “20 volunteers from other organizations are also helping in that work.” According to him, the condition of the patients with diarrhea is normal and the situation is under control.
