Health Minister Shri Satyendar Jain informed that September 2021 has recorded the least number of dengue cases as compared to the last 6 years. He added that Delhi Government’s ‘10 Hafte 10 Din 10 Minute’ campaign is effectively aiding in the prevention of dengue in the Capital. He further said that the Delhi Government welcomes the High Court’s verdict on the Oxygen Audit Committee. Adding that this has paved the way for the Delhi Government to bring justice to the victims who have lost their lives due to lack of oxygen during the second wave of Covid-19.
Shri Satyendar Jain said, “The number of dengue cases recorded up till now is the lowest in comparison to the previous years. A total of 87 cases were reported till this Sunday in 2021, whereas a total of 188, 190, 374, 1103, 1362 and 6775 cases of dengue were reported in September 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 respectively.”
He further said, “The Delhi Government has been taking preventive measures to keep the spread of dengue under control, especially the launch of the “10 Hafte 10 Din 10 Minute” campaign to spread awareness about dengue has been successful for the past 2 years. The people of Delhi have been cooperative to not leave stagnant water around residential areas unattended for the mosquitoes to breed.”
He said, “the life cycle of a dengue mosquito is about 10 days. People once a week for 10 minutes should check for any stagnant water around. All that has to be done is empty the vessels, flower vases, and containers containing stagnant water so that they don’t become breeding grounds for the dengue-causing mosquitoes.”
On the verdict of the Delhi High Court regarding the Delhi Government’s Oxygen Audit Committee, Satyendar Jain said, “The Central Government has given factually incorrect statements regarding the number of deaths due to the lack of oxygen. According to the Central Government, there were no deaths because of the lack of availability of oxygen in the whole country. They even gave this statement in Parliament.”
He further said, “The Delhi Government had formed an Oxygen Audit Committee to find out the deaths due to oxygen and to compensate the victims, which was suspended by the Central Government through the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. The High Court has also said that this committee of the Delhi Government is absolutely justified and there is nothing wrong with it. Anyone can apply to this Oxygen Audit Committee of the Delhi Government. The government will scrutinize these applications and give compensation of up to 5 lakhs to the victims. The media was also giving information about the deaths due to lack of oxygen by reporting live. But the central government wanted to hide these deaths. This act by the Central Government during a tragedy is wrong.”
After this decision of the Delhi High Court, now the Delhi Government will be able to form an Oxygen Audit Committee to investigate the deaths due to lack of oxygen and give compensation to the victims. This will provide justice to the people who lost their lives in the Oxygen crisis during the 2nd wave of Covid-19.
(EW correspondent)
