A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has alleged that the Delhi government has been downplaying the number of dengue deaths in the national capital, reports The Times of India. The report, yet to be tabled, drafted by doctors and medical experts, records observations between 2013 and 2015.
The report claims that from 2013 to 2015, public awareness campaigns costing Rs 10 crore were launched between September and November, when the onslaught of the disease had already begun, reports The Asian Age.
The findings of the report have come days after a Delhi government-appointed committee claimed that the city had no fatalities caused by either chikungunya or dengue, another report by The Times of India says.
Between 2013 and 2015, the state’s review committee confirmed only 60-65 deaths, hospitals reported 409 deaths, the report claims. In 2015 alone, of the 67,500 dengue cases, only 33 percent were reported to the Centre by the Delhi government.
The report also claims that the Delhi government did little to handle the outbreak despite availability of funds. According to The Asian Age, the CAG report claims:
The institutional mechanism and steps taken by the departments and municipal corporations were not commensurate with the magnitude of the problem though funds were not a constraint.
Delhi has seen a seasonal but steady rise in the number of vector-borne diseases since 1967. However, there is no standard operating procedure in place to fight the outbreaks.
(With inputs form The Times of India and The Asian Age)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)