Capital has dengue, govt must rise

The Delhi government appears to have finally woken up to the dengue crises in the capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has chaired a meeting of his cabinet, conducted surprise inspections at government hospitals, and threatened private hospitals with a new law to punish them if they turn patients away. A special Assembly session could be called. There is promise of more beds at government hospitals, some of which are currently accommodating three patients on one. This flurry of activity seems to have been triggered by deaths, just days apart, of two children who were apparently turned away by hospitals claiming lack of facilities. In one heart-wrenching case, a couple tied their hands together and jumped to their deaths from a building after losing their seven-year-old to dengue, and to hospitals’ apathy.

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi is not the only one at fault here. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre also runs Delhi, and some of its bigger hospitals. A large number of smaller hospitals and primary health centres are under the control of BJP-run municipal corporations, which also happen to be in charge of anti-mosquito drives. Following these deaths, the agencies have been blaming each other. That’s predictable. But here was a situation where the Delhi government should have taken the lead. Kejriwal has now called a meeting with all municipal corporations to deal with the crisis. It is inexplicable that he didn’t think it worth doing over the past many weeks, as the dengue count kept rising, making it the worst year since 2010. Over 1,800 Delhiites have been diagnosed with dengue so far this season, though there has been a spurt over the last week. At least 14 people have lost their lives going by the tally from individual hospitals, but less according to official figures.  Delhi appears to be going against the nationwide trend. Across the country, there have been 21,000 dengue fever cases so far, about half the total recorded last year.

The Delhi government needs now to make up for lost time. It must make sure that government hospitals get the promised 1,000 beds soon, and realise that even this number may not be sufficient. Its health department must ensure that the plan to cancel leave of doctors and other staff is implemented, and staff from smaller dispensaries temporarily relocated to deal with the bigger problem. A special session of Delhi Assembly too is a good idea. But only if it doesn’t end up with the AAP MLAs and the miniscule Opposition using it just to score debating points.