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New
Delhi, IRNA -- The worst may not be over yet in the western
state of Gujarat. If the rescue operation takes too long,
it may find diseases spread by unsafe food and water and
rotting bodies threatening its recuperation bid. According
to the `Statesman,' an English daily published in New Delhi,
rescue workers have been able to extricate only about 6,000-odd
bodies while the conservative death toll hovers between
30,000 and 40,000.
"Contaminated
food and water and the decomposition of bodies still trapped
under the debris may cause an outbreak of diseases if not
pulled out fast," said K.K. Dutta, director of the
National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), adding
that "decomposition will start attracting flies and
animals."
While
Datta said that "a lot will depend on the authorities
in the affected areas," Secretary of Agriculture Bhaskar
Barua, who is coordinating rescue and relief operations
in New Delhi, said fear of an outbreak of diseases had already
prompted the government to send a NICD team to assess the
situation and recommend precautions.
The
11.5 tons of medical supplies despatched to Gujarat include
10 lakhs chlorine tablets to check water-borne diseases.
"We also anticipate a shortage of wood needed for cremations
and have diverted cargo trains ferrying kerosene and coal
to Bhuj, in Gujarat, so that their cargo can be used for
cremating the dead," Barua said.
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