Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Overseeing the rise in vector borne diseases during and post monsoon season, the health officials are getting cold feet in controlling the mosquito menace, thanks to the shrinking staff.
The malaria wing of the health department has been facing a staff crunch as no new appointment has been made in the department for the last eight years. Moreover, many of the employees and staff got retired but the department didn’t get any new staff.
There were over 45-50 employees about eight years ago who were responsible for anti-larva activities, fogging, and surveying in the areas where cases of dengue were found but now only half of the employees are remaining.
“The city is growing swiftly and so as the city limits. Many villages were added to the city and the population is also increasing. Work of the malaria department has increased with the growing city but the shrinking staff is proving a hurdle in the work,” department’s staff said.
They also added that various works like preparing slides, surveying the affected areas, fogging, and distributing are affected. “Due to shortage of hands, the teams couldn’t reach the rural areas for surveying,” the staff said.
District malaria officer Dr Daulat Patel accepted the shortage of staff and said that they have asked the department to appoint staff at the earliest.
“Yes, we are facing a staff crunch as no appointment has been made in the last eight years. We have informed the officials for the same and are expecting some appointments soon,” he said.
Indore was worst hit by the deadly dengue disease in 2021 when over 1200 cases were found. In 2022, 242 cases were found which gave a reason for health officials to heave a sigh of relief.
Now, the number of dengue cases are increasing as 19 cases, of previous months, are reported by the private hospitals.
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