File case against BMC staff for spike in chikungunya, dengue: RTI activist

Bhopal: Alleging that 5,000 people contracted vector-borne diseases, resulting in “over 100 deaths” in Bhopal, an RTI activist demanded filing of a case against “erring” Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) health and sanitation officials. A case should be filed against the “erring” BMC staffers and officers under the Section 304A (punishment for causing death by negligence), he said.
In a 2-page letter to BMC mayor Alok Sharma during Bhopal Choupal, Manoj Tripathi claimed he had verified his claims with the health department. He claimed Kolar was the worst-hit area, where over a dozen villages within municipal limits have yet to get piped drinking water.
Hitting out at the civic body for poor sewage network in the area, the activist claimed Kolar area with about three lakh population, has been adversely affected due to lack of basic infrastructure. He claimed that dengue, chikungunya and malaria are on the rise, because of laxity of BMC officials and staffers in the area.
Substantial money is being spent on making Bhopal ‘Swachh’. However, the state capital is at the mercy of non-performing civic body staffers and officials. “Due to negligence on the part of the BMC, there were deaths. BMC officials should be booked under IPC 304 A and held responsible for death of over 100 people,” he said.
Commenting on the allegations made by the activist, senior BMC official said, “The activist has got his facts wrong. Mosquitoes causing dengue and other vector-borne diseases breed in clear water.”
So far this year, as per health department data, over 500 people have tested positive for chikungunya and dengue. Malaria impacted about 300 people and H1N1 was detected in about 200 people.
Last year, Bhopal reported over 1,000 dengue and chikungunya cases, one of the highest for a city in the country.
During his visit to Bhopal recently, Union ministry of urban development and housing secretary DS Mishra said vector-borne ailments could scupper any city’s plan to be crowned the number one in Swach Survekshan. He hinted that urban health issues would also be accounted for in Swachh rankings.