Malaria panic in Dooars garden

TT, Alipurduar, June 29: An outbreak of Malaria has been reported in Atiabari Tea Estate and around 400 garden residents have been tested positive, district health officials today said.

Today, senior health officials from the district and from the block visited the affected areas in the garden, located in Kalchini block of the district, to examine the condition of people.

Puran Sharma, the chief medical officer of health of Alipurduar, said: "The situation is serious in the garden. Malaria is common during monsoons but such high concentration of patients in a tea estate has left us worried."

"We have deputed paramedics at a health sub-centre in the garden along with necessary equipment to examine blood samples of people who are complaining of symptoms like fever and body ache," Sharma added.

The CMOH also informed that the health department was spreading medicines near the workers' quarters to kill the larvae and four pregnant women were shifted to a health centre in Latabari, to save them from the outbreak.

"We will send medical teams from tomorrow to examine the patients tested positive with malaria and administer necessary medicines to them," he said.

The garden workers and their families have alleged inaction on part of the management.

"We do not get even basic medicines from the garden. The drains remain clogged with dirt and the water tanks are also not cleaned regularly," a worker said.

Calls from this newspaper to the garden manager went unanswered.