MP criticises State government for ‘non-preparedness to face dengue’
The Hindu
Jagadish Shettar, MP, criticised the State government saying it was not prepared enough to face the spread of dengue.
Jagadish Shettar, MP, criticised the State government saying it was not prepared enough to face the spread of dengue.
Speaking to reporters after a visit to the district civil hospital in Belagavi, Mr. Shettar said that he felt that the measures being taken to contain the epidemic were not adequate. “I would urge the State government to face the public health emergency posed by the spread of the disease on a war footing,” he said.
He demanded that the government take necessary measures to contain the spread of dengue cases across the state including Belagavi district. “Unfortunately, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has been non serious about the matter. He has said that there the situation did not warrant the declaration of a health emergency. I only ask the government to wake up before the situation gets worse,” he said.
“Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease and the district administration and local administration should pay close attention to mosquito control. It is necessary to maintain cleanliness in the city. Of course, the citizens should join hands with the city and district administration and remain vigilant and maintain cleanliness and control mosquitoes,’‘ he said.
Mr. Shettar alleged that there was a mismatch between the figures given by the district administration and the doctors. Civil hospital authorities told me that as many as 189 cases of dengue were detected in the city and were being treated in the hospital alone. But the district health officer said there were only 177 dengue cases in the whole district. Of them, 48 were registered in the last week itself,” he said, and added that he was happy about the way doctors were treating the patients.
He said he had asked district health officials to form a team to contain the spread in the taluk centres and for treatment.
“A lot of patients are getting admitted in private hospitals. There are complaints that such cases are not being included in the figures of the district health department. I feel that they should be included,” he said.
The Congress government including controversial farm legislations that had been brought in and later withdrawn by the BJP-led government at the Centre as the reference points for the Karnataka Agriculture Prices Commission (KAPC) has ruffled the feathers of farmers’ leaders and agricultural economists who had expressed their ideological support to the Congress.