Dengue cases in Ludhiana cross 1,400-mark; health dept, MC pass the buck

While the health department blames the MC for not carrying out fogging operations effectively, the civic body says that residents are to be blamed for not following government guidelines

With the city recording over 1, 400 dengue cases and many more going undetected, the health department and municipal corporation (MC) are passing the buck on their failure to control the vector-borne disease.

Health department officials collecting larva samples from Pavitra Nagar in Ludhiana. (HT Photo)

While the health department blames the MC for not carrying out fogging operations effectively, the civic body says that residents are to be blamed for not following government guidelines on checking the spread of the disease.

District epidemiologist Dr Ramesh said the only way to control dengue is by intensifying fogging operations and increasing the challan on people violating government guidelines. Both these measures have to be implemented by the civic body.”

He added that deputy commissioner Varinder Sharma had conducted a meeting on Saturday and sought details on the measures being taken to curb the spread of the vector-borne disease.

He said that 18 people tested positive for dengue on Sunday, taking the district’s tally to 1,489, while 2,078 more are suspected to have caught the disease. Of the total 1,489, as many as 1,145 are from Ludhiana city while 305 are from other districts who tested positive here. Thirty-nine patients are from other states, said Dr Ramesh.

Meanwhile, health department officials, on the condition of anonymity, said that they had shared locations of at least 1,000 dengue cases but the civic body has issued only 186 challans against violators so far.

On the other hand, Dr Vipan Malhotra, health officer of the civic body, said that the department has issued 206 challans.

“Due to some technical snag, I could not update the list (of 1,000 dengue cases). There are 14 big fogging machines which are used in the wards every day. Besides, there are 95 handheld machines which have been given to all councillors for targeted fogging,” said Dr Malhotra.

He further added that the civic body and health department could not visit all places so people should cooperate and act responsibly. “They should not let fresh water accumulate in pots, tanks and other materials so that we can curb the spread of dengue,” stressed Dr Malhotra.

Earlier on October 8, a 33-year-old resident, Angad Singh Ahuja, had died of multiple organ failure after contracting dengue.