Palle Pragathi keeps seasonal ailments in check
Hyderabad: The initiatives taken up in Telangana under Palle Pragathi have not only helped in ensuring sanitation in villages but have also helped in bringing down seasonal ailments drastically across the State. Take the case of malaria in the State in 2015. From as many as 11,880 cases of malaria in 2015, the cases declined […]
Hyderabad: The initiatives taken up in Telangana under Palle Pragathi have not only helped in ensuring sanitation in villages but have also helped in bringing down seasonal ailments drastically across the State.
Take the case of malaria in the State in 2015. From as many as 11,880 cases of malaria in 2015, the cases declined by a whopping 95 per cent in 2021 when just 643 cases were reported. Similarly, cases of diarrhoea and enteric fever (typhoid) dropped by 80 per cent and 60 per cent respectively. Diarrhoea cases dropped from 4,81,564 in 2015 to 89,591 in 2021 and typhoid cases reduced from 52,744 in 2015 to 19,407 in 2021.
Under Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s pet project Palle Pragathi, the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department has been taking up several initiatives with special focus on sanitation.
Apart from setting up 12,769 vermicompost sheds, water tankers and trolleys have been distributed to each gram panchayat to maintain sanitation. Garbage bins have been distributed to all households as part of solid waste management.
Speaking to Telangana Today, a senior official from Panchayat Raj and Rural Development said: “All these measures have definitely helped in bringing down seasonal ailments drastically. Prevalence of malaria cases was high during monsoon season but in the last few years, the number of cases declined steadily. This is because of sanitation measures, anti-mosquito drives and efficient solid waste management.”
The annual seasonal action plans of the State Health Department have also been implemented effectively in gram panchayats by Panchayat Raj Department, he said.
During the southwest monsoons, Telangana witnesses an increase in vector-borne diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya. In addition to solid waste management, provision of safe drinking water under Mission Bhagiratha has played a crucial role in reducing diarrhoea cases, he explained.
Over 12,000 gram panchayats in the State now have trolleys for collection and disposal of garbage and one Secretary is appointed for every panchayat to monitor sanitation and other activities.
The officials pointed out that the striking aspect was the drop in hospital and medicine expenditure for many people due to effective implementation of Palle Pragathi programme in the villages. Though the expenditure on individual basis may be marginal, when a Statewide scenario is taken into consideration, it would be phenomenal, the official pointed out.
13,737 villages in State ODF Plus
Telangana has topped the list of highest number of Open Defecation Free (ODF Plus) villages under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II programme till December 31, 2021, in the country.
As many as 13,737 out of 14,200 villages in the State are in the ODF Plus list, which is 96.74 per cent. It is followed by Tamil Nadu with 4,432 villages (35.39%) and Karnataka with 1,511 villages (5.59%). The State government enacted a new Telangana Panchayat Raj Act to ensure holistic development of villages.
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