Annual public health report of the Province of Bihar.

  • Bihar (India). Public Health Department.
Date:
[1940]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual public health report of the Province of Bihar. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    to the district board and all wells belonging to private persons in the mela areas and those on the different roads converging to the mela were chlorinated or disinfected with bleaching powder before the commencement of the mela. and afterwards they were regularly treated with cholera bacteriophage. Arrangements were also made on the lines of previous year to render the water of Mahura, Mahi and Gandak rivers unfit for drinking purposes by mixing kerosene oil. Sixty-one sets of trench latrines with an accommodation for 305 seats were provided for the whole mela area and of these 20 trench latrines each with an accommodation for 6 seats wrere put up in the Ghat areas as in the past years. Two sets of septic tank latrines each with an accommodation for four and ten seats respectively, fitted with auto-flush arrangements that were installed in 1937, were also made available for the public use. Besides these, 50 bore¬ hole latrines fitted with movable cement concrete seats were also put up. But as the number of latrines still fell far short of the actual requirements of the vast crowd visiting the mela, a large number of people eased them¬ selves in the open field and the moving squad of sweepers on duty had to remove the night-soil found littered in the congested areas and trench it in suitable places, although experience showed that no amount of such attempt to pick up and bury the night-soil would satisfactorily remedy the condition unless adequate number of properly constructed latrines are provided. Eight rubbish carts and 56 sweepers were employed for road sweeping work and regular road watering was done with only two motor lorries which were available during the mela. Four samples of Ghee were taken by the Health Officer, District Board, Saran and sent for chemical analysis to the Public Health Laboratory, Patna and a number of stale food-stuffs were also seized by him and destroyed with the consent of the owner. This action improved the quality of the food sold in the mela to a certain extent. Members of the various voluntary associations such as the Bihar Provin¬ cial Seva Samiti, the Hindusthan Boy Scout Association, Bihar, Provincial Boy Scout Association, and Bharat Seva Sangh which camped in the mela area as well as the Police constables on patrol duty gave valuable help to the dispensary doctors and the health staff in the mela. Sanitary arrangements at Pahlezaghat and Sonepur Railway Stations were made by the Railway. The staff deputed for the inspection of passengers in trains, detected and isolated cases suffering from infectious diseases. The carriages were disinfected regularly and the drinking water-supply in the station area was also treated with choleraphage every third day. Strict vigil¬ ance was maintained to detect cases of infectious diseases in the mela area and prompt measures were taken on receipt of information of their occurrence. A Red Cross Railway Van was placed at the Sonepur Railway platform for use as a first-aid post and was kept open all along under the charge of a railway doctor. Public Health Propaganda was carried out as usual by means of posters hung in conspicuous places, priuted leaflets on public health subjects distribut¬ ed among the public and magic lantern demonstrations carried out in the mela area. PitripaJcsha mela.—The Pitripaksha mela at Gaya commenced from the 16th September 1940 and ended on the 1st October 1940. The influx of pilgrims was mostly by railway but many came by private and public vehicles and also on foot. 70,535 pilgrims visited Gaya by rail as against 73,488 in 1939. As usual the pilgrims were accommodated in the licensed lodging houses, Dharamsalas and Jatri Nivas of Bharat Seva Sangh. Special arrangements were made for the comfort of the pilgrims during the mela period. One hundred and ninety-six lodging houses providing accommodation for 12,856 pilgrims were licensed during the year under report. They were regular¬ ly inspected and were kept clean as far as possible. The Health Officer of the Gaya municipality functions as the Secretary to the Lodging House Committee and is entrusted with the duties of inspecting the Lodging Houses. The District Magistrate, Gaya and the Assistant Director of Public Health, South Bihar Circle and the Director of Public Health, Bihar, visited the mela. All roads and lanes of the mela area were kept clean and all nuisance and filth promptly removed. The drains were daily cleaned and bleaching powder mixed with lime was freely sprinkled over them. The system of maintaining crawly