‘Civic body playing down malaria threat’

With five malaria deaths reported in civic hospitals, corporators lambasted the civic administration for its lackadaisical approach towards tackling malaria.

With five malaria deaths reported in civic hospitals, corporators lambasted the civic administration for its lackadaisical approach towards tackling malaria.

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Corporators claimed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been playing and fudging figures about the ill, in order to play down the threat of malaria.

Leader of the opposition in the civic body and Congress legislator Rajhans Singh said civic officials were deliberately playing with the figures. “BMC officials have failed in containing the spread of monsoon-related ailments. BMC officials refuse to learn their lesson even after last year’s outbreak.”

Additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar, in-charge of health, claimed there had been a dip in malaria cases this year. “The slide positivity rate that determines how many positive-testing malaria slides were examined was 5.89% in June last year. This year it has dipped to 1.7%. Mosquito-proofing measures are also in place and those who do not comply with the norms are being penalised,” she said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator and legislator Yogesh Sagar said, “The reason why malaria and other diseases continue to rankle the city is because no official was held responsible for last year’s outbreak. BMC officials need to know that taking meetings in their cabins and rattling off figures will not help in tackling the problem.”

Pravin Chedda, BJP corporator from Ghatkopar, also said, “The cases on the ground are more than what the figures indicate. Officials need to get serious before it is too late.”