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The fiendish killing of a Public Health Inspector in Kantale in the East, who was, apparently, merely carrying out his duty, is a pointer to the rising criminality in this country. Among other things, it is an indication that the local law and order situation needs constant watching. Considering these alarming trends, President Mahinda Rajapaksa s decision to establish more police stations countrywide is a timely initiative which we hope would make a notable dent in the crime wave.
The state is engaged in a massive public awareness raising exercise with regard to curbing the dengue disease and it seems that the populace would also need to be told that since our PHIs are discharging a vital duty, which would help in enhancing the public good, their functions must be facilitated by the people. In other words, our PHIs are public servants who should be befriended by the public and enabled to carry out their duties, rather than being savaged and murdered. Such brutality, it must be pointed out, will only undermine the public good and bring upon the perpetrator of the relevant crime the full force of the law.
The situation with regard to dengue is somewhat desperate and the PHIs must in no way be hindered in the discharge of their duties. Scores of persons have died as a result of dengue and the disease must be fought and defeated with the utmost strength of the state and the people. Accordingly, the state could in no way turn a blind eye on those who get in the way of health personnel carrying out their duties.
The killers of the PHI in question must be brought to justice and lawless sections warned that they cannot stand in the way of public servants carrying out their responsibilities.
In view of the gravity of the situation, the state would need to provide our PHIs with the maximum security. The lives of these personnel could in no way be exposed to any risks and their movements in no way trammeled. On and off, it was reported that these PHIs were harassed by irate sections of the public but it was perhaps never imagined in any responsible quarter that a PHI would be compelled to pay with his life for doing his duty. However, the writing is on the wall now and the state would need to come down heavily on lawless sections which are intent on even getting in the way of our health personnel.
As some authorities have pointed out, dengue eradication is more an environmental than a public health issue. This is in consideration of the fact that it is unkempt physical environments that play a main role in the breeding and spread of dengue. For instance, it is now ascertained that unattended receptacles and containers where still water accumulates, are key factors in the breeding of dengue larvae. Therefore, all that householders and other relevant sections ought to do is ensure that their surroundings are free of these disposables that help in retaining water. Keeping our surroundings clean, in other words, is the principal requirement.
Business premises, inasmuch as household precincts, are prone to generate the conditions that could facilitate the dengue mosquito. There are businesses that require receptacles and containers, when once carelessly disposed of, could help in breeding the dengue mosquito.
There are some small-time businesses that find these receptacles essential for the conduct of their operations, shady or otherwise. Such operators are likely to oppose our health personnel but the state is obliged to ensure that nothing gets in the way of the PHIs carrying out their duties.
So, the state is duty-bound to provide our health personnel with the necessary security. Meanwhile, it is best that dengue be controlled on a war footing. New regulations would need to be brought into force to ensure compliance on the part of the public with the country s health requirements. Laws may need to be brought in to render illegal those acts of omission and commission which hinder our health personnel in carrying out their duties. The national interest should be enshrined as supreme and inviolable.
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