Dengue cases fail to wake up admn

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 2

More than half of the dengue patients in the district are from the walled city area, but the Municipal Corporation (MC) has not initiated fogging exercise to deal with the problem.

Out of the total 53 cases confirmed by the district health authorities, 29 patients are residents of localities in the walled city area.

The MC being responsible for providing basic amenities in the city has to initiate fogging to control breeding of mosquitoes.

The civic body has also kept aside budget of Rs 12 lakh for purchasing chemicals required for fogging. However, it has failed to float tenders for purchase of chemicals.

“So far, the MC has hot purchased chemicals despite large number of dengue patients coming to hospitals every day. It will take almost a month to procure chemicals even if the exercise is started now,” said an insider.

Meanwhile, health officials said reports of at least 10 patients admitted to government hospitals were pending as these could not be received due to a public holiday today. However, an official said reports of at least 30 patients, including those admitted to private hospitals, were still pending.

The district epidemiologist, Dr Madan Mohan, said, “Maximum patients in the suspected list are from the walled city areas. Fogging exercise has to be initiated as soon as possible.”

He said in a meeting of the dengue control team of the Health Department employees were asked to monitor the situation in their respective areas. “We are advising people to take precautions as these are better than the cure,” he added.