The Government has failed to provide medical aid in full measure to control malaria, other fevers and diarrhoea in the Visakha Agency and reported only one death while 66 had died, alleged CPI(M) district committee here on Saturday. Twenty four of them died due to malaria, eight due to diarrhoea and the rest due to jaundice, typhoid and other diseases, it claimed.
The Government had not only failed to take up preventive measures in advance but also in filling up the many vacancies of medical officers and paramedical staff, conducting spraying operations, providing safe drinking water and other measures. It also reduced the budget for medicines. Health Minister D.L. Ravindra Reddy's recent visit to Agency was a “road show”, said CPI(M) district secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao at a press conference here and announced that the party would file a petition before the State Human Rights Commission on the conditions in Visakha Agency and the Government's negligence. It also demanded the Government to declare health emergency in Visakha Agency. Facts noticed at the field-level during an Arogya Vaaram conducted by the CPI (M) teams in the Agency were different from the official statements from the Government, he said.
As many as 32 persons died in Pedabayalu and Munchingput mandals, six due to malaria, eight due to diarrhoea and 16 due to other fevers and ailments in Pedabayalu mandal. In Munchingput mandal, eight died due to malaria and 16 due to other fevers and aliments, he said. Even days after the District Collector visited Lajjari in Padabayalu mandal after some deaths were reported, there were still many cases of fevers in the village, he said.
