Taking a serious view of the high incidence of malaria and dengue, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the department was unable to fulfil its mandate in spite of being provided with all the facilities.
Negligence in mapping disease-prone areas and tackling these health hazards was evident, he observed and warned that failure to rise to the occasion would attract stringent action.
In a video conference with the Collectors and officials on Saturday, Mr. Naidu said a large number of malaria and dengue cases were reported from Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Anantapur and East Godavari districts and asked what action had been taken to curb the menace. He questioned whether disease hot spots had been identified and if so, why was there an increase in the number of cases.
Inaction questioned
The CM said 1,196 dengue cases were reported so far this year and Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Anantapur districts accounted for a majority of them.
Saying that malaria and dengue were not new phenomena, he asked the officials where the lapses were and what prevented them from taking necessary steps.
Cleanliness drive
Mr. Naidu instructed the Director of Municipal Administration K. Kanna Babu and officials of the Panchayat Raj Department to launch a cleanliness drive on a war-footing to prevent the spread of the diseases.