JORHAT, July 30 - Sivasagar Deputy Commissioner Virendra Mittal took stock of the conditions of the people in flood and erosion-Rupohimukh and Dikhowmukh area recently and asked the district level officials concerned of Health and Family Welfare, Veterinary and Agriculture department, Public Health Engineering department and few others to take up measures for providing facilities for better living and earning to the locals.
Taking up a suo moto cognizance on a report, which was published in The Assam Tribune on July 4 this year, the division bench of Chairperson Dr Justice Aftab H Saikia and member Tarun Phookan of the Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) had ordered the Deputy Commissioner to conduct a spot-enquiry into the plight of those people and submit a report within 30 days to the commission.
Citing the presence of government�s popular schemes for providing adequate drinking water, sanitation and health care facilities to the citizens of any rural area of the district The Assam Tribune brought to light the plight of the displaced families of Rupohimukh, who remained deprived of basic amenities for more than two years after flood and erosion devastated their homes and agricultural lands.
However, accompanied with several officers various departments like Health and Family Welfare, Agriculture, Public Health Engineering, Revenue and Disaster Management and Water Resource department of the district the Deputy Commissioner visited the locations on Monday and directly interacted with the locals.
After interaction the Deputy Commissioner directed the officials of health services to organise a health camp in every month in the locality to provide adequate healthcare service and guidance for better living. He also ordered the officials concerned of Public Health Engineering department to conduct a survey immediately for supplying pure drinking water to the families.
Besides, the officials of Agriculture and Veterinary department were also asked by the DC to conduct a camp in every month in the area. The Deputy Commissioner also assured of providing electricity to the deprived people under Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Scheme soon.
It is to be mentioned that several villages of nearby Dikhowmukh area are yet to provide pure drinking water though the presence of fluoride and arsenic in non-permissible limit has been suspected by the villagers in the ground-water of the area. Though the colours of drinking water collected from the tube-wells of Raghubari, Bharalua, Kharadhara, Veselimari and many others clearly indicate the contamination no initiative has been allegedly taken up by the Public Health Engineering department in such villages to sensitise people about the hazards of drinking such water.
Locals alleged that all those villages are yet to be connected with the pipes of local water supply schemes and several children, women and elderly citizens have been suffering from water-borne diseases in those villages.
As most of the river-side villages of Dikhowmukh and the embankment are facing massive erosion by Dikhow river the DC visited some spots and directed the Water Resource department to implement anti-erosion measures to protect the villagers of Bharalua, Goal and Gayen Gaon, Raghubari, Kharadhara, Dicial, Dulia and many others.
Expressing delight in the DC�s direct interaction to the villagers of the flood and erosion-hit several locals and AASU members requested the district administration to implement schemes effectively in the rural area to provide pure drinking water and to protect the villages of Dikhowmukh from massive erosion.
