Cuttack, July 12: Opposition councillors today criticised the civic body's anti-dengue operations as seven dengue cases were reported from various parts of the city in the past 48 hours. The latest cases have been reported from areas such as Mangalabag, College Square, Shankarpur and CDA.
Earlier, the cases were confined to Jagatpur, under ward No. 49 of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation, on the city outskirts. The new cases that have been reported from the heart of the city indicate that the disease is rapidly spreading its tentacles across Cuttack.
So far, 88 dengue cases have been reported from Cuttack. Of this, some 69 persons have been tested positive for the vector-borne disease at Jagatpur alone. The detection of dengue cases in new wards has provided an opportunity to opposition councillors to target the Cuttack Municipal Corporation for the outbreak.
"Measures to contain the dengue outbreak have so far remained in pen and paper. Dengue cases are rising with each passing day," said councillor ward No. 4 Giribala Behera.
Patra further said, the senior officials of the civic body should urgently convene an emergency council meeting for launching a massive sanitation and awareness drive in all the 59 wards in the city.
<>On the other hand, a senior Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) official claimed that there was no need to panic as only a handful of sporadic cases had been reported from four new localities and adequate measures had been taken to contain the dengue outbreak. The official added that a drive had been undertaken at Jagatpur to destroy the breeding sites of the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes and that more than 50 sanitary staff had been deployed for spraying of larvaecide and fogging operations.
"We have already deployed a health team at Jagatpur. In the past two days, the experts have examined more than 120 patients suffering from fever," said municipal commissioner Gyana Das.
The chairman of CMC's standing committee on public health Ranjan Biswal said that they were taking steps to combat the dengue menace. A sanitation and awareness drive was conducted at ward No. 24 today.
"We are trying our best to improve sanitation. Awareness and sanitation drives and fogging operations will shortly be carried out in every part of the city," Biswal added.
Union minister Jual Oram today targeted the state government for its failure to tackle the dengue outbreak in Keonjhar and Cuttack.
In Bhubaneswar, Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena today discussed dengue prevention measures with officials of the health and family welfare department and the civic body.
New nodal officer
At a joint meeting of health and urban development departments today, the director of Shelter Mission Yadav Sachin Ramachandra, a senior IAS officer, was appointed as the nodal officer to co-ordinate the anti-dengue drive.
Health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and urban development minister Puspendra Singh Deo today reviewed the prevailing situation at a joint review meeting. Nayak said that 797 dengue positive cases had been detected till yesterday, with the maximum of 113 from Keonjhar district.
"One hundred thirty patients are undergoing treatment at various hospitals and their condition is stable," he said.
