LG polls and dengue control

The Government is to amend the Mosquito Breeding Control Act to give Health Inspectors and other officials wider power to inspect private premises. The present Act involves a cumbersome procedure that requires written permission from the occupants and owners and to obtain a Magisterial order if they refuse such permission.

This no doubt is a time consuming exercise given the delays germane to our legal system. By the time court orders are obtained much damage could ensue.

There is also the possibility of the offending sites being cleared up by the occupants by the time the legal process is set in motion nullifying all the trouble. Things no doubt will be back to square one after the matter is dropped. Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena has called for the removal of the relevant sections by amending the Act.

Good as the Government proposal is, the crux of the matter lay in getting the public to keep a clean environment and pollution free surroundings. One way this can be done is by imposing deterrent punishment to the offenders. Inspecting premises is only one aspect. What about abandoned land and property that provide sanctuary to dengue mosquitoes?

Today one could see many such lands both in urban and rural areas overgrown and reclaimed by the elements. These naturally provide a haven for the deadly mosquito. Action should be taken to make owners of these lands accountable. Lands and property that are similarly left neglected should be taken over by the State.

Dengue has claimed 246 lives in 2010 while the number of cases reported was 34,105. This shows the extent to which the epidemic has spread not only due to natural breeding grounds but also negligence on the part of the public.

Whatever happened to the massive anti-dengue drive we witnessed some time back where the local authorities and volunteer organizations went about in a frenzy cleaning up drains, canals and mosquito breeding sites. Another outbreak has already begun.

What is the purpose of the Health Ministry issuing statistics of Dengue victims if no preventive action is taken to control the epidemic at the outset? Already we see stagnant drains and large puddles of water from the intermittent rains which are fast turning into mosquito breeding grounds.

The garbage problem is, if anything worse than it ever was - a ready recipe for disease and pestilence.

Here is a golden opportunity for our budding politicians who are at each others jugular - whether from the same party or otherwise - today vying for election to the local bodies, to prove their worth as true servants of the people by taking on the dengue issue head on.

Instead of wasting their time and energy fighting against each other they could put their collective shoulders into a massive anti- dengue drive islandwide by being in the forefront cleaning up drains, clearing clogged canals and eliminating all potent mosquito breeding grounds in their areas.

This no doubt will earn them much kudos from the voters guaranteeing their election to the local bodies. This single act would also garner for them all the votes they need, more than the thousands of posters splashed on the walls.

The money used for such publicity stunts could be used for carrying out anti-dengue campaigns in their wards and localities bringing them into prominence in the public eye.

The party leaders for their part should recognize such acts of public service by these grass roots politicians and reward them by making them heads of the local bodies they are vying for. This would encourage more public-spirited acts of this nature on the part of grass roots politicians making them peoples’ representatives in the true sense of the word.

In the meantime the authorities should get their act together in the dengue prevention campaign and go all out to eliminate the sources of the killer mosquito. The flood aftermath in the North Central Province has made it extremely vulnerable to the epidemic. Urgent measures are therefore needed to minimise the effects.

The Government it is reported had dispatched medical teams to the flood affected areas which is the right move. But the doctors alone will not be able to tackle dengue on their own without all preventive measures being taken.

Therefore as mentioned this is where those aspiring candidates for the local bodies can help by identifying the vulnerable spots and organizing a massive anti-dengue drive with the help of their supporters. This while providing a worthy public service will also help avert clashes leading to a violent free poll in these areas.