Mayor Afzal Imam and PMC commissioner Kuldip Narayan

The sting turns sharper everyday with the virtual war between the mayor and Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) commissioner preventing any strict measures to combat dengue in the vulnerable areas.

The rift between the civic body top executive and legislative has reached a certain height that the PMC standing committee meeting could not be held on Monday.

The meeting was convened to formulate a strategy to launch dengue fightback.

Mayor Afzal Imam claimed that he had asked PMC commissioner Kuldip Narayan about the details regarding fumigation drive conducted in various localities of the city but he did not provide the details regarding the same.

“Neither he came in the meeting nor the other PMC officials turned up. The standing committee’s meeting was very important because we had decided to discuss the strategies need to be taken to control the dengue menace. I am going to write to the state government to take necessary action against the commissioner for being absent continuously in the standing committee meetings,” Imam said.

Narayan could not be contacted despite many attempts.

According to data collected by the civil surgeon’s office till Monday, at least 170 people, including 120 in the Patna urban area, have been hit by dengue across the district.

Narayan and the other officials did not participate in the earlier meeting on November 3 also. Sources said the commissioner and the officials want the mayor to apologise for his alleged misbehaviour with one of the PMC employees. Imam, however, refuted the allegations. “There is no truth in the allegation. In fact, the commissioner should say sorry to me for putting false allegation on the mayor who happens to be the first citizen of the city,” said Imam.

PMC additional municipal commissioner Shirshat Kapil Ashok on Monday constituted an investigation team to probe the alleged death of two dengue patients in ward No. 54 of the Patna City area.“What was the route chart of the particular fogging machine? What was the proportion of diesel and methylene in the fogging? All these things would be probed by the team,” he said.

“The probe report needs to be signed by the local people with their phone numbers and addresses. The team has been asked to see whether there was laxity on the part of executive office of the circle concerned or on the part of city manager of chief sanitation officer,” said a PMC official on condition of anonymity.