The pathetic condition of temporary accommodations of migrant labourers in various parts of the district has been exposed again by a study conducted by the Health Department under its project ‘Garima’.
The survey identified 341 settlements as unliveable.
The data, which was presented at a district-level workshop for journalists here on Friday, was compiled after conducting the field-level study in around 875 such migrant labour settlements in the district.
Officials said the condition was upsetting as 38.9% of the total space provided to the labourers was below the mark.
Poor awareness on vaccination
District Medical Officer V. Jayasree, who inaugurated the workshop, said poor awareness about vaccination continued to be a big hurdle in the district to fight communicable diseases. Mainly, the poor handling of solid and biodegradable waste led to the outbreak of diseases in the last season, she said.
The data presented by the Health Department also confirmed filariasis among 39 non-Kerala labourers in the district.
On the basis of the latest reports, all the grama panchayats were asked to conduct a detailed survey work in their limits to find the total number of non-Kerala workers and screen them.
Officials said field-level health awareness campaigns as part of an year-long action plan to address all major health issues would begin in the district from January 21. Health awareness rallies too would be part of the mass campaign planned in the sector targeting local and migrant labourers’ communities, they said.
