Ludhiana: Civic body acted on only 111 of 806 dengue challans: Officials
Under the 'Har Sukarvaar, Dengue Te Vaar' campaign, launched by state health minister Dr Balbir Singh, the health department has been inspecting various areas to identify and eliminate potential mosquito breeding sites, issuing fines to property owners who fail to prevent such conditions. These challans are then forwarded to the municipal corporation, which is responsible for levying the fines.
Since the anti dengue drives began late May, the department till 21 July had issued 806 challans. But they have received action reports for 111 cases. Despite the health department's proactive efforts, the municipal corporation has yet to take action on 695 of the 806 challans issued by health officials.
Dr Vipan Malhotra, health officer of the municipal corporation, stated that he was aware of 188 challans, with actions already taken on 111, but no official report had been filed as of yet.
District epidemiologist, Dr Sheetal Naranag, however, maintained that the challan information was regularly sent to the municipal corporations and confirmed that all the challans till 21 July— 806 in total— were shared with the municipal corporations. 'We have sent details of the challans issued so far. It is for the municipal corporation to take cognisance of those and take action,' she said.
This slow response has raised alarms among health officials, who argue that such delays are undermining the broader goal of reducing dengue cases by 90% this year. With only 10 dengue cases reported so far this season compared to 300 last year, the health department had set an ambitious target, but lax enforcement could jeopardise these efforts.
A health official, on the condition of anonymity, even alleged that the civic body officials didn't maintain a proper communication channel to apprise them of the actions taken regularly. Officials are now urging the municipal corporation to take immediate action on the pending challans to prevent a potential spike in dengue cases as the rainy season progresses.
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