Court wants panel to monitor water-borne diseases in city
The Delhi High Court on Monday remarked there has been a surge in number of typhoid cases in the capital, which is linked to bad drinking water quality.
“A lot of typhoid cases are being reported in Delhi, which comes from drinking bad quality water,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra said, adding that it wanted to know what the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is doing to provide potable water.
Recently, HT had reported on a surge in the number of waterborne illnesses in the capital, especially in east Delhi that is linked to bad drinking water quality.
The bench made DJB a party in the case, which it had initiated last month to ensure there is no outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases this year in the national capital.
The court also asked the city government and civic authorities to submit the statutory rules and regulations to ascertain who can be held responsible for ensuring that the court’s directions are complied with.
“We want to be guided on the statutory regime,” the bench said, adding that it was considering forming a high-level committee to monitor the work done to prevent vector-borne diseases.
The court noted that it wanted the civic agencies to begin prevention work early this year, so that preventive measures are in place before the monsoon hit the capital.
In 2016, Delhi saw its first ever chikungunya outbreak that affected 9,661 people. In 2015, around 16,00 dengue cases were reported and 60 people lost their lives to the disease.
However, as per a status
A lot of typhoid cases are being reported in Delhi, which comes from drinking bad quality water. We want to be guided on the statutory regime (that would be responsible for ensuring court’s orders).
report of South Delhi Municipal Corporation, 80 cases of chikungunya and 30 cases of dengue have already been reported in Delhi in just four months since January 1 this year, even though the season for vector-borne diseases in Delhi is between July and December.
The court had, on last hearing, observed that a lot of hospitals in the capital remain underused. It had said there was need to increase the number of beds to cope with peak time requirements in case of outbreak of mosquito-borne tropical diseases in Delhi.
The court also asked the civic agencies to inform it about what preventive steps they have taken in comparison to last year with regard to breeding of dengue mosquitoes.
It was hearing two pleas accusing the city government and municipal corporations of not acting vigilantly and responsibly to control dengue and chikungunya.
One of the petitions was filed by advocate Arpit Bhargava seeking direction to various civic bodies to take immediate steps to contain the disease.
The other petition was filed by law student Gauri Grover seeking lodging of FIR against directors of hospitals that had denied treatment to a seven-year-old boy, who died of dengue and whose parents subsequently committed suicide in September 2015.