03 August 2010
By Geeta.Desai
Municipal Commissioner admits there has been lack of coordination between departments
The National Institute of Malaria Research, Delhi, on their visit to the city, had asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to conduct weekly anti-larvae treatment at mosquito-breeding grounds
The health department’s tardy approach towards the outbreak was exposed in the house when municipal commissioner admitted that 45,000 blood sample slides taken in past during health check up camps are yet to be tested. "The administration is certainly not insensitive, but yes there is definitely lack of co–ordination amongst our officers and staff.
An emergency meeting will be called on Tuesday morning where all the concerned officers from the health department, additional municipal commissioners and deputy municipal commissioner will be called. The meeting will be chaired by me," said Kshatriya in his reply to the corporators’ barbs over the malaria outbreak in the city and the increasing numbers of death. He also said the BMC will not permit the use tarpaulin sheets on the roofs of slums, as it becomes a mosquito breeding ground.
It took four special general body meetings and 227 corporators to discuss the malaria outbreak in the city and make the civic administration realise the grim situation. Corporators, on Monday, also proposed to take consensus over the demand to send back those IAS officers and municipal commissioner back to mantralaya, if they fail to control the situation.
Sunil Prabhu, leader of the house said that all these days we were relying on the figures and details given by the administration, but now we cannot. "Even after enough warnings about the rising malaria cases, civic administration has done little to combat the disease. It is evident in every ward that no work is being done by the authorities and that the steps taken by the department does not show any results," said Prabhu citing the example of the 1 lakh blood sample slides collected but 45,000 are yet to be checked for the malarial parasite test.
Mayor Shraddha Jadhav suggested that civic administration should form a core committee in each ward, which should consist of Assistant Engineer, Medical officer of Health, Pest Control Officer and license officer of the respective wards should work with the corporators.
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