Hyderabad: Observing that it was a health emergency-like situation in the state as news reports spoke of lakhs of people contracting dengue and 1,400 people dying of it, the Telangana High Court directed the government to state what steps it had taken to curb further spread of the disease.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chau-han and Justice A. Abhi-shek Reddy, was dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Dr M. Karuna, a medical practitioner, stating that due to the lack of adequate measures, dengue-causing mosquitoes and its larvae were thriving across the state, leading to emergency hospitalisation of people suspected of having the disease.
The bench directed the government to inform the court by September 7 what measures had been put in place to curb the spread of dengue, the awareness programmes contemplated and how well the medical department was equipped to fight the disease.
Mr Kovvuturi Pavan Kumar, counsel for the petitioner, said an emergency committee should be constituted in various districts.
Mr Kovvuturi Pavan Kumar, counsel for the petitioner, said civic bodies and school health officers should be involved because thousands of children contract dengue.
He said that it must be made mandatory for private medical practitioners and hospitals to report dengue cases immediately to the Institute of Preventive Medicine, the GHMC or the director of health in order to enable them to take steps for effective prevention of the spread of the disease.
The court directed the government to consider the proposals put forth by Mr Kumar. The matter was adjourned to September 7.
