Mumbai: Foot infections plague Swadeshi Mill chawl residents in Kurla

Neelakshi Patil’s rotting foot (right) Usha Pengle’s infected foot

Every monsoon, several women in four chawls of former Swadeshi Mill workers, which consist of 45 to 50 houses, deal with ruptured skin due to infections on their feet, making it painful to walk. The cause of these infections is the salty water that inundates their homes through gaps in the tiles, further mixed with contaminated water that enters when the drainage is not cleared.

While the water also affects the men in the area to a minor extent, the most impacted are the women due to housework. Their feet are submerged in water for most of the day. "Who else will look after cleaning and cooking in the house? It is only when the water fills up considerably that men help to throw it out; otherwise, it is only us. The men either sit on the furniture or step out," said 45-year-old Usha Pengle, whose feet were completely swollen until a couple of days ago.

Madhuri Patil also suffers from sciatica from lifting the heavy buckets (right) Neelakshi Patil in her house

The issue came to the fore when MP Varsha Gaikwad visited some of the houses in the area, after which the drains were cleared by the BMC.

Fifty-five-year Vikas Patil a former mill worker, said his family has lived in the same house for a century. "The mills built these houses over a creek. When it rains, the salty water seeps into our homes because they are not elevated enough," he said.

Neelakshi Patil, his wife, added, "Our feet are rotting because of this water. Our relatives also live in this house with us; they are elderly. We ask them to stay in Alibaug, our native place, until the monsoon ends."

Forty-eight-year-old Madhuri Patil said that apart from the infection on her feet, she has been experiencing sciatica pain from bending and picking up buckets of saturated water to throw out of the house. Her husband, Rajendra, acknowledges that it is Madhuri who faces the most impact.

Doctors at a BMC-run Aapla Davakhana, within walking distance of these chawls, noted that most who visit the hospital with foot infections are women due to unequal housework.

"We refer them to Sion Hospital," said the in-charge of the clinic. At Sion Hospital, dermatologist Dr Rachita Dhural reported that the hospital sees at least 20 patients with similar problems daily. "Parts of the body remaining under water can have that impact, especially in the slum population. It is a bacterial and fungal infection. In this case [of the Swadeshi mill residents], the problem exacerbates due to salty water. In more severe cases, we treat it with antifungal creams combined with antibiotics; otherwise, the cream heals the infection in about a week. It is common for patients to experience pain due to this condition."

Assistant Commissioner of L Ward Dhanaji Herlekar said, "It is most likely creek water itself. There is a surcharge during the rains, causing the water to rise. It is bound to happen. There was an issue of waterlogging in the area due to an uncleared gutter, but we have now cleaned it."