Civic body handled dengue situation inefficiently: Corporators

At the special meeting called in by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Thursday to discuss the rise in dengue cases, elected representatives pulled up the administration and accused the officials of being inefficient in tackling the disease.

In the last two-and-a-half months, the city has witnessed over 300 cases and at least three reported deaths due to dengue.

The issue was raised by NCP corporator Nanda Lonkar during the two-hour discussion where corporators from all the parties expressed concern over the situation.

Many corporators alleged that the officer-in-charge of vector control cell was not performing her duty properly and sought action for negligence. Congress leader Arvind Shinde said it was the responsibility of the head of the health department and not the junior officer when it came to efficient handling.

"It is not proper to put the blame on someone who has been made in charge of the cell with very less staff and facilities. The budgetary provision for the cell has also been allegedly used for purchasing material that is not urgent and the one responsible for it should face action," he said, adding that the staff of the cell had been deliberately transferred to some other department.

Shinde demanded that the administration should disclose the reason for delay in approving the tender for vector control programme under its zero-mosquito project launched in April.

NCP leader Subhash Jagtap urged the civic administration to undertake an intense drive to control the situation and demanded that the PMC should pay for the hospital expense of each dengue patient. RPI corporator Siddarth Dhende said the PMC should address the issue scientifically instead of merely going by sentiments.

Responding to queries, Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak said the civic administration will submit a detailed report of action taken to control the situation.

... contd.

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