Neighbouring states eating into Chandigarh''s pie

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 20

The free anti-rabies vaccine administered by the UT Health Department in various dispensaries across the city are attracting dog-bite victims from Punjab, Haryana and other neighbouring states.

In 2017, a total of 12,092 dog-bite victims had visited two dispensaries to get the free vaccines. While 9,311 dog-bite victims were from Chandigarh, 2,781 came from Punjab, Haryana and other states.

While Dr G Dewan, Director, Health Services, was not available for comments, a doctor from the Health Department requesting anonymity blamed the poor healthcare facilities in the neighbouring states to be the reason behind the paucity of anti-rabies vaccine in the city.

"Roughly over 25 percent of dog-bite cases are coming from neighbouring states. Currently, we have the record of two civil dispensaries. In 2017, as many 1,535 dog-bite cases from Punjab, 331 patients from Haryana, 5,818 from the UT and 28 from other states were administered free vaccine at the civil dispensary in Sector 19," said a government doctor.

He added that 864 people from Punjab, 10 from Haryana, 3,493 from the UT and 13 dog-bite victims from other states were vaccinated at the civil dispensaries in Sector 38.

Sources said in 2017, the UT health authorities had spent nearly over Rs 1 crore on purchasing anti-rabies vaccine while Rs 35 lakh had been spent on the purchase of new consignment of medicine.

Two days after The Tribune highlighted that anti-rabies vaccine and serum were not available at government hospitals and dispensaries across the city, the Health Department swung into action and 500 vaccines were immediately released by the Health Department yesterday.

The resident of Colony No. 4, who had on Thursday staged a protest at the civil dispensary in Sector 19 due to the unavailability of vaccine, alleged that if the vaccines were available in the store room, why these were not distributed among dispensaries.