It is Dengue and Chikungunya season in India again. Kids are urged to guard against mosquitoes with the help of protective clothing and mosquito repellant, parents busy themselves taking other precautions for their kids and themselves. Meanwhile what is the government doing? Enough? Not enough? Is it all hype? Are we overreacting? Is Delhi really the #ChikungunyaCapital or is it now a case of give the dog a bad name and hang him?
As this infographic shows, there were over twelve thousand Chikungunya and over twenty seven thousand dengue cases reported till the end of last month. According to another reputed daily, about 40,000 Indians are affected by the diseases.
While many think that the situation is exaggerated by the media, some experts think that things are graver than we think. There could be underreporting of actual numbers and the Johns Hopkins website reports a study that found that the extent of the problem is vastly underestimated.
The Twitter trend #ChikungunyaCapital points to people’s strong reactions to the nation’s capital reeling under the onslaught of the vector borne diseases though other parts of the country are also affected.
The terrible water logging we saw during the monsoons this year and the city’s complete inability to deal with the monsoons has not only increased the prevalence of mosquitoes, it also exposed the apathy and ineptitude of the civic authorities. The dire state of infrastructure as well as hygiene standards in Delhi were exposed.
The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, its administrative head is currently touring the United States, the Chief Minister is in Bangalore for throat surgery, several other ministers are abroad too. There appears to be an all round abdication of responsibility. Delhi now appears to be the veritable धोबी का कुत्ता, न घर का न घाट का
When he was posed the question about what he was doing about the situation, the Delhi Chief Minister lobbed the ball into the court of the Lt Gov. Jung.
Official transfers, leaves granted and other reasons were cited.
While the politicians and officials are busy blaming each other, common people in Delhi reeling under the onslaught of Dengue and Chikungunya which has claimed 5 lives so far. The tourism industry is affected with many foreign tourists preferring to cancel their visits. The workforce is also negatively impacted with migrant laborers preferring to leave town for the time being.
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