Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday directed Additional Secretary R K Jain and Director General Health Services (DGHS) Jagdish Prasad to visit Dehradun to review the public health situation and coordinate with the Uttarakhand health authorities.
Azad said that the three-member high-level team from the ministry is already stationed in Dehradun to assess the public health situation and coordinate with the state health authorities to provide whatever assistance is needed.
Maintaining that no outbreak of water or food or direct contact diseases have so far been reported from the affected areas, Azad said that six central teams of doctors have been stationed in Uttarakhand. In addition, a pool of around 40 medical officers has been constituted to be deployed on the request of the Uttarakhand Government. He said that three truck-loads of medicines have been despatched and seven truck-loads of material provided to Uttarakhand Government. 2,000 family packs, which include tarpaulins, mosquito nets and utensils have been sent.
Each family pack is self-sustaining for 15 days. He said that 1,000 tents, 3,000 extra tarpaulins and 300 kerosene lamps were provided besides 1,100 body bags sent by Red Cross and 500 by the Ministry. 2 water sanitation units are being deployed along with volunteers to operate them. 1 unit is capable of producing 3,000 - 4,000 litres of safe potable water every hour.