Chandigarh, October 30
Hitting out at the Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government for paying no heed to the alarming rise in dengue cases in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) senior leader and Leader of Opposition, Harpal Singh Cheema termed it a ‘complete failure’ of the government to tackle the serious situation. In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Saturday, Harpal Singh Cheema said that Punjab has recorded almost double the number of dengue cases and deaths; as compared to last year, which was alarming.
He said that the Channi government was in deep slumber, despite the fact that Punjab has recorded more than 15,400 cases of dengue and about 48 suspected deaths; highest in the last six years. Even no official figures were presented by the government, he added. “Things are going out of hand in Punjab, but the Chief Minister is sitting in Delhi. He is not concerned with the health of the people of Punjab; but is just handling his summons from the Delhi Darbar,” said Cheema.
The LoP said that recently a delegation of the AAP including MLAs Aman Arora and Meet Hayer had called on Punjab Health Minister OP Soni and demanded the government to abandon its lax attitude and launch a war against dengue. “Despite giving a memorandum in this regard, the government has not yet come into action. This now shows their incompetence,” said Cheema.
Taking a dig at the Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Harpal Singh Cheema said, “The CM should tell what steps he has taken to deal with dengue; else it should be understood that the health of the people of Punjab is not on his agenda.” He further blamed the Congress government for not making appropriate arrangements for the rampant dengue cases in the state, stating that due to the deplorable condition of the government dispensaries and hospitals; patients were left abandoned to be financially exploited from unruly private hospitals.
The AAP leader demanded that the Punjab government should immediately stop the looting in the private hospitals and determine the cost of bed charges and SDP kits in private hospitals. Cheema said that the Channi government of Punjab should take guidance from the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi to carry out comprehensive reforms in health services.
He said that after Covid, now dengue cases have once again exposed the government health services in Punjab. He said that dengue was a disaster every year, but the state government had never taken any precautionary measures to prevent it, which should have been done by July; as the dengue outbreak peaks in September, October and November.
Cheema said the people have to bear the brunt of the dengue outbreak, as in rural and urban areas, it is the filth, debris, and stagnant water on the roads and streets that breeds dengue and its larvae; for which the local bodies and other concerned departments are responsible. He said it has also exposed the failure of the Modi government’s Swachh Bharat Mission. Cheema said that the government should work on cleanliness at a grand scale and launch awareness campaigns for the people.
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