Pallahara: An increase in the number of deranged persons in this block of Angul district has become a serious cause of concern for the administration as well as the locals.
Earlier, only 3-4 mentally-challenged persons were noticeable here. Suddenly the number has gone up to 12 and they are causing problems aplenty.
These deranged people roam aimlessly on the streets causing traffic problems. They eat thrown-away morsels and usually take shelter on balconies of various shops or under the sheds at the bus depot.
What however, is creating panic is that quite a few of these deranged people are attacking local residents, especially the children. As a result many of them are afraid to venture out in the streets.
Also as these people lead an unhygienic life, many of them are suffering from skin and stomach-related diseases.
Locals however, are clueless about the whereabouts of these persons.
When contacted, senior psychiatrist Dr Laxmidhar Sathua said these persons need rehabilitation and treatment to return to mainstream of society.
Pallahara Sub-Collector Ajit Kumar Pradhan could not be contacted for his opinion despite several attempts.
However, Social Security Officer (SSO) Madhav Chandra Baral informed that the district does not have any medical facility to treat deranged people. He said that there is a rehabilitation centre at Talcher, but it is specifically for women. The only way to treat these people is to take them to Bhubaneswar, he added.
PNN