Dengue: Kapurthala with 375 cases second in state

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, October 2

With over five deaths, probably due to dengue, and over 350 people infected with the disease, Kapurthala district has recorded the second highest number of dengue cases in the state. Mohali has topped the chart with 476 cases.

The number of such cases is on the rise for the past one week. Recently, a 17-year-old boy, Prince, lost the battle of life. While people are developing complications due to this deadly disease here, the health and the local bodies departments are busy blaming each other for the spurt in dengue patients. None of the departments has claimed the responsibility of its lackadaisical approach towards controlling dengue.

Advocate and social worker Suket Gupta says the Municipal Council is unable to lift the garbage scattered on the roads and in residential colonies. Also it has only one fogging machine, which is inadequate to fog the entire city on daily basis. “The district administration too is to be blamed for the chaos as it failed to lift the illegal vegetable mandi running in the city for several years,” he said.

While the health and the local government is busy doing the damage control exercise, the number of dengue patients continues to swell at the Civil Hospital. Over 10 suspected dengue patients have been reported in the last week. The number of patients in private hospitals is expected to be much more than the ones reported in the government hospital.

While speaking to The Tribune, Punjab Health Services director Dr Rajiv Bhalla said the Local Bodies Department was unable to control the spread of disease due to which some complications had indeed developed in certain cases. “People too are to be blamed for ignoring the instructions of the Health Department. Until they maintain hygiene in their houses and surroundings, such diseases will strike,” he said.

Meanwhile, taking cognisance over a petition filed by an NGO, Human Rights Press Club, Permanent Lok Adalat Chairperson Manju Rana has issued summons to Punjab Health Minister Brahm Mahindra and Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for October 4.

Following this, area residents along with the NGOs are planning to gherao the two ministers on the day of their appearance in the district court. For this, many organizations have got fliers printed asking people to gather outside the district courts on Wednesday.