Is health department ready to tackle dengue?

LUDHIANA: In what reflects sheer callousness on the part of health department, the entomologist (insect collector) from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) has not been provided any official vehicle to carry out his duties.
YS Parihar, who came here on Wednesday, is on a 4-day inspection drive to collect larvae samples from parts of the city to study dengue cases.
Earlier, a team from NVDBCP had also visited the police lines but despite several reminders, the situation has not improved much.
On Friday, the official visited Guru Nanak Stadium, MC office, veterinary department and found larvae in almost all places expect veterinary department.
At some places, the larvae was in its incipient stage while at others, it was fully developed.
Talking to TOI, YS Parihar said, “I can only visit those place where health officials take me. In the absence of any official vehicle, it has become difficult to collect samples from various places.”
Bhagh Singh, inspector, anti-larvae department said, “I am trying my best to educate people on the spread of dengue. I have been asking them to drain out water from coolers as they act as breeding grounds for mosquitoes”
Meanwhile, on the condition of anonymity, an employee of the anti-larvae wing of the health department said, “We have only received Temephose till now while Pyrethrum is out of stock. These are used to stop the breeding of mosquitoes.” He said the department had already sent reminders to the authorities and it is expected that the supply will reach them soon.
In 2008, maximum cases of dengue were reported in the country and around 4000 surfaced in the city alone.
To make the city dengue-free, teams of NVBDCP have paid visits here. This is the fourth such inspection drive to be carried out in the city.