Delhi has been battling a dengue outbreak for the past three-four weeks. (File) AAP MLA Atishi alleged that the North MCD had failed to procure adequate medicines ahead of the dengue season. She alleged that the civic body had not purchased 6 out of the 7 required medicines this year.
“There are seven such medicines that are required to be used for dengue-malaria control as per records: diflubenzuron, BTI, Cyphenothrin, Malathion technical, MLO, Alpha Cypermethrin, and Temephos. Of these seven, diflubenzuron, BTI and MLO are out of stock and barely 20 kg of Temephos has been stocked. Out of 7 essential medicines/chemicals needed, 5 have no stock and it is natural that the remaining 2-3 days’ worth has also been exhausted since North MCD’s sharing of the data,” she said.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor, however, rejected the allegations: “She has spoken on the basis of half-baked information obtained from North DMC’s central store on the sensitive issue and said the NDMC has no stock of medicines. The truth is that all zonal offices of North DMC have 2-3 weeks of fogging and sprinkling medicines stock, and hospitals including Hindu Rao have proper stock of medicines.”
Delhi has been battling a dengue outbreak for the past three-four weeks, with cases this year so far exceeding the cases recorded in 2019 and 2020. One person has died so far.
“North MCD’s own statistics in response to questions from our Leader of Opposition about the procurement of these medicines for this financial year, April 1 till today, shows clear under-procurement of 6 out of the 7 essential items. This shows that in the last six months, North MCD has not even procured 1 litre of 6 of these medicines to save the people of Delhi from dengue-malaria. MCD papers state the stock is still in the tender process on the GeM
portal,” Atishi said.
Kapoor said 2,900 DBC workers are working hard to check and control mosquito breeding: “If Atishi still feels that MCDs’ preparations are lacking, she should ask her CM Arvind Kejriwal to provide additional medicine stock to MCDs instead of splashing public money on his photo hoardings.”
Meanwhile, Kejriwal claimed Delhi was now “close to winning the battle” against the vector-borne disease. “We all have to work together to stop mosquito-breeding. We have to do this for 10 weeks, and defeat dengue…,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the CMO.
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