Bezawada.co.in

The general body of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Friday adopted a resolution urging the State government to declare ‘health emergency' in the city.

The issue of seasonal diseases rocked the last meeting of the VMC general body with the opposition parties holding the ruling Congress and the officials responsible for tens of suspected dengue deaths. The CPI (M) described the deaths as “negligent murders”, while the TDP said that the officials were busy in “Vishnu Japam and kowtowing to Congress MLA Vishnu.” The CPI stated that the viral fevers and the resultant deaths reminded the people of the proverb that “Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned.”

At the end of a marathon discussion for three hours, the opposition parties -- the CPI, the CPI (M) and the TDP -- staged a walkout in protest against the “utter failure and indifferent attitude” of Congress leaders and the Corporation , even as Mayor M.V. Ratna Bindu announced lunch break.

‘POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED'

Initiating the discussion, CPI (M) floor leader Ch. Babu Rao alleged that political motives were behind the resolution on health emergency proposed by the Congress. He felt that the suggestion to distribute 50,000 mosquito nets was aimed at the ensuing elections. Referring to vacant posts in the health wing and discrepancies in statistics provided by the officials, he said: “I don't see any rationale behind the resolution if, as per your claims, only 15 suspected dengue deaths have been recorded in the city. There is a dichotomy here. The contents of the resolution appear to be politically-motivated and it is aimed at elections.” Mayor M.V. Ratna Bindu and former deputy mayor Samanthapudi Narasaraju, however, asserted that there were no political motives behind the resolution. It was placed in view of the magnitude of the problem. “The spurt in viral fevers and deaths were a natural consequence, and not because of the failure of either the Congress or the officials,” said Ms. Ratna Bindu.

Cutting across political affiliations, the members stressed the need for controlling viral fevers. They also underlined the need for conducting more medical camps and filling the vacant posts in public health wing of the Corporation.

Municipal Commissioner G. Ravi Babu stated that additional staff had been drafted for the health wing and some posts of doctors would also be filled shortly. The Corporation was ready to pay remuneration up to Rs.40,000 as against the existing Rs. 20,000, he said, adding that walk-in interviews would be conducted shortly. CPI floor leader D. Sankar, TDP floor leader Y. Ramana and others spoke.