Telangana HC summons chief secretary, other officials for ignoring order on dengue

A petition said that it was high time the officials concerned were made personally responsible and saddled with criminal proceedings in case of any dengue death.
Picture for representational purpose
Picture for representational purpose

HYDERABAD: Dissatisfied with the measures taken by the state government to tackle dengue and other vector-borne diseases, a division bench of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday summoned the state chief secretary, principal secretaries to the medical, health and family welfare and municipal administration departments, the director of public health, GHMC commissioner and others concerned on Thursday for an explanation.

“(A) dengue mosquito will not distinguish between a bureaucrat and a poor man, and people die when it stings. Even our judicial officer (M Jayamma, II additional first class judicial magistrate, Khammam) died recently due to dengue, but God forbid, if a similar incident happens in the family of a bureaucrat, they will come to know of the pain we are undergoing. Don’t wait till the issue goes out of control. In early 1300, lakhs of people, including two popes, died when the Plague devastated... Europe. We will not shut our eyes when our orders are ignored,” the court warned.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy, was hearing a PIL filed by Dr M Karuna, complaining of inaction by the authorities concerned in taking steps to prevent dengue in the state, and a PIL that was taken up suo moto based on a letter addressed to the court’s chief justice by advocate Rapolu Bhaskar, who pointed out lacunae in government hospitals in dealing with dengue and other ailments.

The petitioner’s counsel said it was high time the officials concerned were made personally responsible and saddled with criminal proceedings in case of any dengue death.

'Need machines to kill, not count mosquitoes'

Advocate general BS Prasad, while submitting an additional affidavit filed by the principal secy to the health dept, said authorities took all steps to curtail the spread of dengue, and even bought equipment that counts the number of mosquitoes

The bench, in response, said machines that kill mosquitoes - not count them - are needed. Despite orders, adequate steps were not taken to raise awareness on dengue, it remarked. It termed the additional affidavit as “lackadaisical and half-hearted”

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