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Foul stench three weeks after cyclone |
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by Mizzima News
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Friday, 23 May 2008 22:17 |
New Delhi - Three weeks after the killer Cyclone Nargis devastated parts of Burma, the stench from rotting corpses pervades the air. Bloated corpses still float in the creeks and rivers.
The rotting corpses are scattered in Haingyi, Pyapon, Laputta and Bogale Townships in Irrawaddy Division. Bodies are yet to be buried and the stench is unbearable, voluntary relief workers who are operating in these areas said.
"Corpses stink along the river front in many villages in Dadeye Township across Pyapon," a resident of Rangoon into relief work in Pyapon area said.
Similarly corpses are still floating in Myitkyin, Myittan, Achergyi, Acherlay, Leiktalan Chaung, Swetawgone, Layeintan, Seiklaygone, Dadarkyaung, Myaseinge and Kunhmong villages just across Pyapon.
"We found 14 to 15 corpses in some places. About four or five corpses are floating in a pond. Some corpses are trapped on land. Almost all fishermen in Myitkyin and Myittan villages near Pyapon died in the cyclone. The foul smell is unbearable in these villages," he added.
Bodies are still found in Koenikyaung and Ganan villages in the river and on land. We don't know what will happen to our health," a monk who helped in relief work in these areas said.
"The scene of corpses scattered in the villages in Laputta Township is horrible. The corpses have maggots crawling all over them. The bodies are piled up in some places with four or five corpses in each place. I don't know the name of these villages. All have been destroyed," a relief worker said.
Another relief worker in Chaungwa, Kanseik, Sekseik, Pyinseik and Sarkone villages in Pyinkhayine near Haigyi Island said the situation is the same in these areas.
Cholera outbreak has been reported in these areas. A woman and many children are afflicted, but there are no reports of death yet, he added.
"Due to lack of potable water and hygienic food, the people are prone to waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid and Hepatitis A," a relief medical doctor said.
"The foul smell creates nausea and vomiting, uneasiness and dizziness. And it is not good for heart and asthma patients," he added.
In some villages, the surviving relatives of the dead buried them.
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Foul stench three weeks after cyclone
"When we look at the next 20 years, I do not see this military mechanism having a smooth transition. But it is not to be discouraged but to understand the reality as it is," 