Mayor Mahabala Marla has said that the Malaria Control Action Committee will be revived to check the increasing cases of malaria being reported from different parts of the city and surrounding areas.
He said here on Saturday that the committee would have doctors and representatives of private hospitals to ensure better monitoring and identification of cases and to provide timely treatment. Mr. Marla said the services of people, who were in the previous committee, would “definitely” be taken. He said the issue of reconstituting the committee would tabled in the next meeting of the corporation council.
The announcement assumes significance in view of the criticism against the Mangalore City Corporation at an official review meeting recently. Doctors and activists had highlighted the civic body’s failure to tackle malaria in the city, where 886 cases were reported in June alone.
Srinivas Kakkilaya, who was part of the previous committee, had questioned the the corporation’s sincerity in addressing issues related to the spread and control of the disease. He had pointed that the MCC had hired 42 personnel from a private security agency for destroying sources of malaria and collection of blood smears of people, though they were not trained for the job.
Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim had asked MCC Commissioner Ajith Kumar Hegde S. to come up with a better system for reporting cases of malaria.
Reacting to Mr. Marla’s statement, Dr. Kakkilaya said the priority now should be on early diagnosis and prompt treatment.
There should be more centres for diagnosis and treatment of malaria. The corporation should also revive the malaria cell and post a senior official to oversee operations. Services of retired health department officers could be used in the cell, he added.
