New Delhi: On the directions of Supreme Court, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on Wednesday chaired a meeting at his official residence to discuss issues related to Chikungunya, Dengue and other vector borne diseases in Delhi. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Health Minister Satyendra Jain, Union Health Secretary CK Mishra, Delhi Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary (Finance) SN Sahai, New Delhi Municipal Corporation Chairperson Naresh Kumar and other key officers.
The Lt Governor asked for a feedback from all present on the directions issued by him in the previous two review meetings held at Raj Niwas, on 14 September 2016 and 26 September 2016, and the necessary follow-up and compliance of his directions.
The medical superintendents of major hospitals, such as Hindu Rao, G B Pant, Lok Nayak, B S Ambedkar etc apprised the Lt Governor that the fever clinics, fever wards etc are operational round the clock and adequate supply of testing kits and medicines are available in all hospitals. They also stated that the rush of fever patients has come down by 40-50 percent in the last few days. This is a general trend across all hospitals.
The NDMC informed about the preventive measures being taken by them to check mosquito breeding and other anti-larval measures, such as regular cleaning of dhalaos, ample fumigation, fogging etc. The municipal bodies also apprised about the publicity and awareness programmes being conducted by them in association with RWAs, Market Associations, Schools etc. They also informed of the preparedness of their hospitals, dispensaries, as also of medicines, testing kits etc available with them.
Municipal Commissioners informed that they have drawn a roster for field visits by DCs, which is being followed strictly. Moreover, as per directions of the Lt. Governor, critical dhalaos in all municipal wards are being cleaned twice every day. The mapping of critical dhalaos has been done and shared with concessionaires so that garbage does not overflow in these dhalaos.
The South MCD is the nodal agency for reporting and Commissioner (South) informed that in the week ending October 1, the number of cases have come down to 1600, which is a fall of 25 percent, compared to last week.
The Divisional Commissioner informed that in compliance of the Lt. Governor’s directions, Deputy Commissioners (Revenue) of all districts are following a roster of inspections in their respective districts and reports of daily inspections are being submitted to him. Starting 5 October 2016, these reports shall also be made available online and monitored online. They shall also be sharing these reports with the Health department and MCDs. The IEC material to raise awareness is also being circulated widely in each district. The DCs are also ensuring that no EWS category patient is denied admission by private hospitals.
The Health Secretary, GNCTD and DHS informed the Lt. Governor that as per reports collected at 10.30 a.m. on October 5, 2016 from across hospitals, 25 percent beds dedicated to fever patients are lying vacant. The CEO (DJB) too informed of the additional pumps deployed by them to remove sewage surcharge. The CEO (Delhi Cantonment Board) informed of the awareness programmes and the anti-larval measures undertaken by them. The DMRC was told by the Lt. Governor to ensure that no water collects in their construction sites and adequate sprinkling is done to check breeding of mosquitoes. Finance Member (DDA) informed the Lt. Governor of the inspections being carried out by the DDA teams in their colonies/markets, as also checking of water being collected in parks/nurseries etc.
General Manager (Northern Railway) informed of the fogging operations in Railway colonies, as also about the mosquito terminating train with mounted spraying machine being run by them on the railway tracks. The Lt. Governor asked the GM (Northern Railway) to increase the frequency of the mosquito terminating trains on the tracks, since people living alongside the railway tracks are particularly vulnerable.
Union Health Secretary CK Mishra informed the Lt. Governor of the meetings held with Health department, GNCTD and MCDs in the last six months, which focused primarily on larva control, ensuring adequate supply of drugs and testing kits, proper hospital management to take care of the rush of fever patients, including running of mobile fever clinics etc. Special Director General of Health Services stated that a Control room has been set up in Nirman Bhawan to take stock of the situation. He highlighted the importance of proper reporting of cases and of continuing fogging in the days to come as well.
Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendra Jain informed the Lt. Governor that hospitals are equipped to handle fever cases and currently 355 fever clinics are running, including on Sundays.
The meeting ended with the Lt. Governor insisting that all concerned must continue to put in their best efforts and in fact intensify them further, especially in the wake of recent rains in the city. The Lt. Governor insisted on making the awareness programme more robust since mosquito breeding has still not abated. He asked the health minister to hold a review once a week.