The Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday directed the Health Secretary to file a report by August 16 with district-wise details of number of people affected by dengue and chikungunya in the recent months. The judges also wanted to know if there were any deaths in the State due to the vector borne diseases.
A Division Bench of Justices K.K. Sasidharan and G.R. Swaminathan issued the interim direction on a public interest litigation petition filed by activist K.K. Ramesh of Madurai. Arguing the case in person, he told the judges that newspapers were full of reports of deaths due to dengue and chikungunya across the State.
However, on his part, Additional Advocate General B. Pugalendhi told the court that the government was doing everything within its mite to control the mosquito menace. He said that district-level committees headed by the respective Collectors and a State-level committee led by the Chief Secretary were monitoring the situation periodically.
During the hearing of the same case in January this year, another Division Bench of Justices A. Selvam and P. Kalaiyarasan demonstrated the severity of mosquito menace in the State by asking a court staff to zap down scores of mosquitoes with an electric racquet right on the judges’ dais in the centrally air-conditioned Court Hall No.1.