Rajapalayam Municipality has “suddenly” turned into a happening place. A large number of bureaucrats and field officers are criss-crossing the wards of the town under the direct supervision of Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar.
Continuing the clean-up operation for the third consecutive day in the dengue-hit Rajapalayam and its peripheries, the officials cleared 3,000 tonnes of garbage from the 42 wards on Sunday.
After dengue claimed 18 lives, most of them children, the State government despatched three Ministers, Principal Secretary (Health) J. Radhakrishnan, Municipal Administration & Water Supplies Secretary Paninthra Reddy and others to the town. They are camping in different areas and monitoring the progress of the work.
A team of Drug Control Inspectors visited medical stores in the district and checked whether they sold drugs on prescription from approved medical practitioners. Cases were booked against 21 pharmacists who violated norms.
At least 14 wards in Rajapalayam Municipality came under scanner, as the mosquito population had gone up. After the officials carried out various measures, including fogging, it came down drastically.
According to a senior municipal official, lack of cleaning operation and stagnation of water turned the place a favourite spot for mosquito breeding. It had now been brought under control and there was no need to panic, he added.
Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association State president Dr K. Senthil, who visited the Government Hospital here, said dengue which was prevalent in many towns in 2012 in the State had been curtailed to a great extent. Experts from Madurai and Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital were assisting the teams in Rajapalayam. The government had also provided all basic facilities for testing ailments like viral fever, he added.
Similarly, Indian Medical Association State president Dr. R.V.S. Surendran said after the rainy season such complaints of viral fever attack were reported. While 96 per cent of the victims were cured, four per cent suffered due to delayed treatment. The government had arrested several quacks in the district now.
In a bid to create awareness and educate the public, the Information and Public Relations Department has been screening short films on dengue prevention through LED mobile display vans.
