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Battling dengue in Sri Lanka
Thursday, 15 July 2010 - 10:43 AM SL Time
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Mosquitoes seem to be a protected species in this country. Else, there could not have been so many of their breeding places untouched by the public, the health authorities and local government institutions. The government, for its part, keeps delaying the importation of the BTI bacteria from Cuba as if to give a turbo boost to the on-going `Save the Mosquitoes` campaign! It is only natural that the incidence of dengue is extremely high and people are dying of the disease in all parts of the country.
Over 20,000 dengue cases and 140 deaths due to the disease during the first half of this year have been recorded. In a way, they were no mere deaths they were killings caused by our collective criminal negligence. Those precious lives could have been saved if we, as a nation, had got our act together and waged an all out war against dengue. The blame for this sorry state of affairs must be apportioned to one and all.
Nothing short of a concerted, relentless, national campaign with a single-minded will to succeed will help us eradicate dengue, which has turned out to be more virulent of late. Since appeals and persuasive tactics haven`t yielded the intended results as regards the elimination of mosquito breeding grounds, laws must be strictly enforced to achieve that end. Let heavy fines be imposed on those responsible for contributing to rampant mosquito breeding.
In most cases, the worst culprits are the local government institutions and their chiefs must not be spared. The government declared recently that in nominating candidates for the next LG polls, those who had made an outstanding contribution to the country`s battle against dengue would have pride of place. This kind of incentive is most welcome but the heads of errant LG chiefs who have created mosquito breeding places must roll by way of deterrent punishment.
The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) has announced an ambitious plan to rid the city of dengue. It deserves unstinted public support as Colombo has the highest number of dengue patients (about 3,000). However, it ought to translate its vows into action. If the CMC keeps the areas under its jurisdiction clean, ninety nine per cent of the dengue problem will be over in no time.
Today, we carry a photo essay on the Independence Square. Appropriately titled `Squalid Square`, it is a gritty portrayal of the fetid squalor of the place where a national monument reluctantly stands. There have been numerous public complaints about the appalling conditions there. It looks a veritable mosquito farm! What has the CMC been doing all these years?
Among the State institutions located at this `Squalid Square` is the Western Province Chief Minister`s Office. The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation situated on the other side has, to its credit, launched a campaign to get the place cleaned, albeit in vain. If this is the situation in the heart of Colombo, it is not difficult to imagine the conditions elsewhere.
The Cabinet was meeting in Kilinochchi at the time of writing. The government argued that by taking the Cabinet Circus there it would be able to focus better on the problems of the people in that part of the country. How does the government propose to solve the problems of the Sri Lankan expatriates, especially those in West Asia, where housemaids are going through hell to keep the home fires burning? Is it planning to have Cabinet meetings overseas as well?
Inveterate government backers claim that when the President and his ministers travel somewhere, infrastructural development in that area gets a boost. The question is what the UPFA politicians and their bureaucratic lackeys are there for, if such development does not occur without the President`s intervention.
Be that as it may, now that the government has demonstrated its determination to go ahead with the travelling Cabinet Circus, we urge it to consider the Independence Square the next venue of a Cabinet meeting so that the CMC and others responsible for the maintenance of the place will be jolted into carrying out a clean-up.
Thereafter, the Cabinet may meet in other areas full of uncollected garbage piles and stinking stagnant drains where mosquitoes happily breed. The Cabinet may begin its anti-dengue meetings from the Bloemandhal Garbage Mountain, which stinks to high heavens.
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AnuD
Senior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 42849
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 19 Jul 2010 03:09:30 GMT Report for Abuse
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SRi Lanka does not do do any research and development.
theywait until everything comes from overseas. |
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