The Times of india  19.08.2010

NEW DELHI: There was furore in Delhi assembly on Wednesday over the rising cases of dengue in the city. Health minister Kiran Walia said the officers employed by MCD, which is led by BJP, to check mosquito breeding were instead assigned property tax collection work. The opposition lashed back saying the issue was being politicized by the ruling party.

There was chaos in the House soon after Walia began her speech in reply to the opposition's allegations of mismanagement on the part of the government which has failed to take adequate measures to tackle the dengue menace. Walia claimed that only after her intervention were the MCD officers asked to check mosquito breeding.

As the BJP continued to protest, speaker Yoganand Shastri told the minister that she should stay away from controversy and instead elaborate on the preparations made by the state government and its hospitals. Chief minister Sheila Dikshit said if the opposition continues with the protest the response will be laid on the table. Backing Walia, the CM said that the minister has the right to present the full picture before the House and no one should stop her from doing so.

"The control of vector-borne diseases is primarily the responsibility of the MCD for which Delhi government provides grants running into crores of rupees every year. However, when the complaint of dengue fever started coming in we found the MCD was not at all prepared to prevent breeding of mosquitoes,'' said Walia.

The health minister added, "The present dengue situation is based on the reports of confirmed cases from sample hospitals. Holy Family Hospital is a large tertiary hospital which has not been considered by MCD for counting cases in the densely-populated area of Okhla. MCD has been asked to include Holy Family and other major private hospitals while counting dengue cases.''

Walia said that it was only because of the government's efforts that the situation has been brought under reasonable control. She alleged total inaction on the part of MCD. The minister informed that as per MCD's reports till August 17, a total of 297 cases were reported. So far, there has been one death due to dengue.

She pointed that the maximum cases 55 have been reported from Central Zone. Of these, 37 are from the Jamia-Okhla area. Walia said a number of measures have already been taken to deal with the situation in this area. She, however, blamed area MLA Asif Mohd Khan for communalisation of the issue. Walia said, "I strongly object to communalisation of the occurence of dengue in Okhla area, as attempted by the area MLA, under rule 280.'' Khan refuted the allegation and stormed out of the House protesting against the government's failure in dealing with dengue.