Hyderabad: Not convinced with the measures taken by the state government in controlling the rapid spread of dengue fever and mosquito menace, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday warned the government that it would have to face severe consequences if the court found no progress in controlling the epidemic within a month.
While dealing with the PILs filed expressing concern over the spread of dengue fever in the state, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy said, “If the government fails to tackle the epidemic by the day of the next hearing (October 23), this Court shall have no other option but to summon the principal secretary to elicit the details and other serious actions would be initiated.”
The bench observed that visits by ministers and VVIPs did not make hospitals prepared, first the state government had to provide concrete infrastructure in these hospitals. Going through the statistics furnished by the GHMC and Health Department on dengue-affected patients viz., 5914 Dengue cases which have been identified in just 22 days (from 01-9-2019 to 23-9-2019), the Bench obser-ved that it appeared the government was not serious about dengue prevailing in the state since the last one and half month.
The Chief Justice expressed shock over the news report that private hospitals were driving away poor people who were thronging them seeking medical aid, affected with dengue fever. The court also directed the state government to enquire into the authenticity of the report.
The Chief Justice found fault with the GHMC in not using Drone Technology to spray insecticides to control mosquitoes breeding in slum areas. When the Advocate General Mr. B. S Prasad informed that drones were being used to spray over the lakes only, the CJ said that drones were being used in his residential area and asked why they were not being deployed in slums.
