Harish Rao slams govt over rising dengue deaths, calls for urgent action

Harish Rao demanded that the State government immediately review of sanitation management and hospital preparedness to prevent further loss of life due to viral fevers.

Hyderabad: Former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao slammed the State government for its handling of the ongoing dengue and malaria outbreak in Telangana. He criticised the government for neglecting public health, despite the rising number of deaths due to dengue, with five people reportedly losing their lives within just 24 hours.

Expressing concern over the rampant viral fevers, Harish Rao demanded that the State government immediately review of sanitation management and hospital preparedness to prevent further loss of life due to viral fevers. “It is a pity that while the State is suffering from viral fevers like dengue and malaria, the government is showing least concern,” he said.

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The former Minister noted that the BRS had previously warned the government about the potential outbreak at the start of the monsoon season. “We urged the release of funds for sanitation and public health measures, but the government ignored our warnings,” he said.

The State government did not initiiate any proactive preventive measures like special drives to prevent mosquito breeding, which led to a rise in cases across both rural and urban areas, he said, citing the dire situation in hospitals, where patients were facing severe shortage of beds, indicating the severity of the outbreak. He said Congress leaders were abandoning administrative duties and instead, indulging in political blame games.

“The Congress government is giving preference to do politics and throw mud at opposition leaders over addressing the health crisis,” he remarked.