the goan I network
MARGAO
Will the South district authorities wake up and act at least now with the health officials on Tuesday making it clear that the dengue situation in the district has gone out of hand with little or no help coming from the local bodies, including the municipalities and the panchayats?
This question was the subject of debate after a meeting chaired by Additional District Magistrate, Surendra Naik with officials of the health, including urban and primary health centres, besides representatives of the municipality and panchayat bodies at the Matanhy Saldanha complex here on Tuesday morning.
As health officials submitted before the Additional District Magistrate how the urban and primary health centres are battling dengue with their backs to the wall, with little help coming from the local bodies, Surendra only assured the beleaguered health officials that he would place their grievances with the District Collector, Ajit Roy for appropriate action.
A health official even went to the extent of point blank telling the Additional District Collector that things have gone out of hand on the malaria front, saying the situation will not come under control unless all the agencies put in their efforts to fight the menace.
Take the case of the Margao Urban Health Centre. Health Officer Dr Anju Kharangate drew attention of the Additional District Collector to the fact that 30-odd workers, attached to the Margao Urban Health Centre, cannot effectively cover all the 25 Margao municipal wards. She made a mention of the fact that while the Margao municipality had deputed three workers at the disposal of the Urban health centre, the workers have since been withdrawn by the civic body.
In fact, health officials pointed out that if the municipal bodies and the panchayats undertake fogging and anti-larvae operations in their respective jurisdictions, it will go a long way in battling the dengue menace across the district.
Hospicio Medical Superintendent Dr Ira Almeida and Margao Urban Health Officer Dr Anju Kharangate also raised the burning issue of non collection of waste by the MMC on the plea the waste stored in the bins is mixed garbage. Dr Almeida in particular drew the attention of the Additional District Magistrate that around 14 municipal bins located
inside the hospital compound have been lying full to the brim for want of clearance by the civic body.
Dr Kharangate also echoed similar sentiments, saying the MMC workers do not collect the waste from the urban health centre on grounds it is mixed waste. “We do not store mixed waste in the bins. When hundreds of people come to the centre every day, the situation is indeed unmanageable,”
she said.
After giving the health officials a patient hearing and after listening to the representatives of the local bodies, Additional District Collector, Surendra promised to take up the matter with the district Collector to convene another meeting with senior municipal and panchayat officials to address the issue. 245 dengue cases in October so far as
authorities are yet to control outbreak
MARGAO: Dengue has still not come under the control of the authorities in Margao city till date, with number of cases reported during the current month to around 245 till date.
That’s not all. Though Hospicio hospital received around 10-12 patients a day ago, and another eight on Tuesday, the authorities said the situation is still not under control.
Hospicio Medical Superintendent Dr Ira Almeida pointed out that while only eight were admitted in the hospital on Tuesday, the authorities cannot yet say that the situation is under control.
Margao Urban Health Officer Dr Anju Kharangate echoed similar sentiments. “Unless there’s a drastic drop in the number of cases, we cannot say dengue is under control. We are closely watching the situation in the wake of the intervening rains,” she added.
