The New Indian Express 12.08.2010
Wanted: CMO for GHMC!
The rainy season has brought diseases like malaria, dengue, influenza, typhoid, diarrhoea and swine flu in its wake and many people are being admitted into hospitals, both government and private suffering from such vector-borne, water-borne and air-borne diseases. At such juncture, the surprising fact is the city does not have a chief medical officer of health (CMOH). The post has been lying vacant for the last two months.Already, there have been reports of deaths due to swine flu, dengue and other diseases. With the situation starting to grow from bad to worse, neither mayor Banda Karthika Reddy nor the GHMC commissioner Sameer Sharma are making any serious efforts to fill up the vacant post.
The previous CMOH Ch Jayaram completed his term of five years in June. Since then, there has been no effort to make a new appointment. The GHMC additional commissioner (Health and Sanitation) Aleem Basha is presently holding the additional charge.
He is also holding the post of zonal commissioner of West Zone, as the previous zonal commissioner P Venkatram Reddy had been transferred.
Because of incessant rains in the last two months, the city has seen a rise in malaria, dengue, swine flu, influenza, diarrhoea, and other diseases.
The CMOH in close coordination with the hospitals and nursing homes, used to keep track of the diseases and inform the same to higher officials for taking preventive measures. Presently, the process is not being properly monitored by GHMC authorities.
TDP floor leader in GHMC, Singireddy Srinivas Reddy criticised the mayor and commissioner for not filling up the crucial post when it was required the most. “If the situation goes out of hands, they have to face the consequences,” he said.
