HYDERABAD, Sept 13: Water-borne diseases have broken out and a large number of people are reporting to medical camps in units no-2 and 11 of Latifabad taluka with complaints of skin allergy, stomach pain, fungal infection and diarrhoea.

Doctors have advised people suffering from gastroenteritis to use bottled or boiled water. However, most of the people have not been getting any potable water for days.

Doctors and medical staff are treating patients in unit no-11 at the army, Rangers and district government.

A group of women who approached a medical camp complained of not getting ration and water in their area.

Army medical team members said that around 600 patients reported to the camp daily and all of them suffered from water-borne diseases such as fungal, skin infections or gastroenteritis due to use of contaminated water.

According to a doctor of the district government health department, so far 1,500 patients had reported over the few days to the camp. He said patients also complained of respiratory infection, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis.

He denied that there was a shortage of drugs.

“How can I use boiled or clean drinking water when under present circumstances, I do not have access to this facility,” Mrs Saleem told Dawn in an army medical camp in unit-11.

Another woman, Shahnaz, was virtually screaming and crying for drinking water. Her husband was unable to work and her minor sons work on daily wage basis. “Please, give me drinking water and I will make no complaints.,” she told a major while weeping. The army official assured that ration would be given to her.

“The dowry of my two daughters and Rs8,000 which I had saved have been washed away in Thursday’s downpour,” said Bilquees. She added that her electric appliances and household articles had also been lost. A woman, Janat Bibi, said she had killed a snake in her house, and added that mosquitoes had made their lives miserable.

Daily-wage earners are the worst-sufferers and life remained completely paralysed for them. They are unable to do their business in the area or leave for work. ]

Markets in units 2, 7, 8, 11 remained closed because of rainwater. Level of water in the outer limits of unit-11 has only marginally receded and people’s cries for draining out of rainwater from localities continued on the seventh day ever since it rained on Thursday last. Apparently water level in unit-2 Latifabad has not receded.

Commuters face hardships because transport drop them away from homes and they have to wade through knee-deep water to reach their areas from their offices or business places elsewhere in the city.

Cooked rice is being distributed among stranded people through boats in different colonies of unit-11. People said that the meal was not sufficient for a five to six member family as only one shopping bag of rice was given to people.

Residents could been seen demanding and raising their hands for food and clean drinking water while minor children continued to move in filthy carelessly water the stench of which overpowered nerves.

However, the district government has yet to begin distribution of ration. A meeting was in progress to finalise arrangements for distribution of rations when this story was filed at 8pm.

Till Wednesday evening, the district government had completed work on two channels for draining out of rainwater of unit-2 Latifabad for disposing it of across Bachao bund in unit-4.

Digging of one drain, the larger one, had to be suspended as army officials engaged the excavator for another option of draining the water in cultivation area of public school.