Faiq Ali Bugti, Aziz Marri :
DERA BUGTI: The number of patients rises to 1650 in Balochistan’s resource-rich Dera Bugti district in the aftermath of the cholera outbreak. “150 fresh patients admitted to government-run hospitals”, Dr. Azam Bugti, the District Health Officer (DHO) Dera Bugti told Quetta Voice via telephone.
The district administration has declared an emergency in all government-run hospitals to tackle the situation and make sure timely treatment for the patients. Hospitals remained crammed with patients and their attendants in the district.
Chief Minister Balochistan, Mir Quddus Bizenjo approved the release of an additional amount of Rs.300 million to address the issue of water shortage in the area. The CM has directed the finance department to make sure timely release of the amount to support the people.
CM directs secretaries health and PHE to reach Dera Bugti
CM Bizenjo has also directed the Secretary of Health and Secretary of Public Health Engineering (PHE) to reach Dera Bugti to personally monitor the situation and review the arrangements, an official handout issued on Thursday said. “Secretaries should stay in the district till a solution to the problem”, the CM directed.
The cholera outbreak in the Pir Koh area of Dera Bugti has claimed four lives including a child. “Contaminated water has caused water-borne diseases”, Dr. Azam Bugti mentioned. He said an emergency has been declared in the district to cope with the situation.
Pir Koh, a mountainous village that houses 35,000 people
Pir Koh is a mountainous village, which houses more than 35,000 people. The government was providing water from 12 kilometers away by the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL). Crude oil surfaced within the water facility of the OGDCL, Azam Bugti informed. This caused the outbreak of cholera and caused various water-borne diseases.
The number of government doctors in the Pir Koh is currently 4 and 17 paramedics. “Government of Balochistan has provided only 9 doctors in Dera Bugti”, the DHO revealed.
People of the area had also staged a protest demonstration the other day to mount pressure on the provincial government to make sure provision of clean drinking water. “We are providing gas to the entire country but deprived of drinking water”, Muhammad Bakhsh Bugti, one of the protesters said.
Journalist Syed Ali Shah from Quetta also contributed to this report
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