Mohindra blasts Sidhu’s dept for dengue outbreak
Says it neither carries out regular fogging nor creates awareness about the disease in urban and semiurban areas; flays rural development department too
Health minister Brahm Mohindra on Monday blasted the local bodies department, headed by Navjot Singh Sidhu, for its “careless approach” in tackling dengue and other vector-borne diseases in the state this year.
The state has reported 8,811 dengue cases till October 31 this year as compared to 8,768 in the corresponding period last year.
Mohindra, who was chairing a state task force meeting of 13 departments constituted to check spread of dengue, also attacked the rural development department for failing to act despite repeated calls by the health department.
“I am deeply disappointed with the local bodies department’s attitude in tackling this menace. Whenever any vector-borne disease spreads, the media blames the health department. The careless approach of the local bodies department in not discharging its duty of checking mosquito breeding has resulted in the present situation. It neither carries out regular fogging nor creates awareness about the disease in urban and semi-urban areas,” Mohindra said.
“Last year too in October, the local bodies department invited tenders to buy insecticide, but the purchase was not done till December when the breeding of the dengue mosquito starts decreasing,” said Mohindra.
Though director, local bodies, Karnesh Sharma, who was also at the meeting, tried to defend the department saying it has initiated process for buying insecticide used to kill mosquitoes by fogging, but Mohindra countered and asked him to provide details of the insecticide purchased till now. The officer’s reply could not satisfy the minister. “I don’t have an idea. I will check and giving details,” said Sharma.
The minister said the health department recently provided 337 litres of insecticide to the 11 urban bodies. “People have reached the moon and we are still unable to fight mosquitoes.When my move to write to ministers of local bodies and rural development departments to play an active role in this fight did not get any reply, I wrote to the CM who wrote to the chief secretary to direct all departments to take it seriously,” he said.
”The CM also instructed all departments to ensure to send a secretary-rank official to the meeting of the task force. Even CM’s intervention could not change the attitude of these departments,” said Mohindra.
“Today too, junior officials have been sent for this meeting. We have asked departments to appoint nodal officers, but to no avail. Whenever we write to departments, they fail to respond. Three meetings of the task force has been held in the past one year, but the local bodies department has not send the action taken report even once,” he said.
To prove his claim how the local bodies department was responsible for the spread of dengue, the health department officials prepared a detailed presentation which was showed to the task force officials at the meeting with photographs of breeding of mosquitoes and leaking water supply lines.
On the health department’s efforts to check the disease, Mohindra said 22,000 samples have been tested this year free of cost. “All positive patients are being provided free treatment at government hospitals,” he said.