The Police will assist the health authorities in applying the law in respect of abandoned or neglected houses and properties found to be mosquito-breeding spots. The law will apply to all owners of such properties, even if they have changed residence to other parts of the country or gone overseas.
Health authorities are working overnight to ensure that dengue does not reach epidemic proportions.
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| Owners of negelected unoccupied properties will have to face the law. Pic by Susantha Liyanawatte |
Health Ministry Deputy Director (Public Health) Dr. Sarath Amunugama said the Police will put up notices wherever they find neglected or abandoned properties. Red notices will follow if there is no response from the owners. Meanwhile, the Police will work with Grama Sevakas and local authorities to trace the owners, or relatives, of such properties.
Failure to take corrective measures would result in legal action, said Police Environment Unit Director SSP Quintus Raymond. Section 262 of the Penal Code states that “whoever unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.”
“In most cases, the owners of abandoned and neglected houses and properties are based overseas, with no one put in charge to maintain their properties,” SSP Raymond told the Sunday Times.
The week from May 14 to May 21 was declared National Dengue Prevention Week.
“During prevention week, we identified mosquito breeding spots in occupied properties and in neglected construction sites,” said Health Ministry Epidemiology Unit director Dr. Ranjith Batuwantudawe. “We faced difficulties finding the owners of abandoned and neglected lands and houses.”
Mosquito larvae are commonly found in gutters, drains, unattended ponds, bird-baths and potted plants. Dr. Batuwantudawe requests the public to inform the authorities if they know of such breeding spots. Complaints can be lodged with the relevant local authorities, Environment Police units or the Health Ministry (Public Health).
High-risk areas include the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kandy, Kalutara, Kalmunai, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Matara and Puttalam. In Colombo, the high-risk areas are Dehiwala, Mount Lavinia, Kaduwela, Homagama, Kolonnawa, Wattala, Ja-ela, Kelaniya and Diwulapitiya. These areas are monitored closely by Medical Officers of Health (MOH).
Military camps and dump yards owned by the state and the private sector are also attracting the killer mosquito. “There has been an increase in cases reported from Slave Island, including military bases in the neighbourhood,” Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) chief medical officer Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam told the Sunday Times. “We have requested cleaning campaigns in these places, and also in police barracks and housing quarters.”
Recent weather conditions, heavy rains in April and May followed by warm weather, have been congenial for the breeding of the killer Aedes Aegypti mosquito.
The number of dengue cases has almost tripled so far this year, compared with last year. Between January and May this year, there were 51 dengue deaths and 11,441 cases of dengue illness, the bulk reported from Colombo, Gampaha, Kandy and Kalutara. Of the 51 fatalities, 22 were reported from Colombo district and seven from the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) area. Fifteen deaths were reported from outside the city of Colombo. In the first four months of last year, 4,874 cases of dengue were reported islandwide.
Health inspectors boycott National Dengue Week
Public Health Inspectors play a key role in dengue prevention. However, many PHIs refused to turn up for work during National Dengue Prevention Week, saying they had not received due payments for many years.
According to Senarath Bandara, secretary of the Public Health Inspectors’ Union, the annual allowance of Rs. 1,600 for a PHI’s outfit is not enough to cover sewing charges and the purchase of shoes.
“The public health inspector walks miles every day, going from house to house on inspections, and uniforms and shoes wear out fast,” Mr. Bandara told the Sunday Times. “Our officers get a meager salary. The Health Ministry should be giving each officer Rs. 10,000 as the annual uniform allowance. The office maintenance allowance is Rs. 100. It should be Rs. 2, 500.”
Public health inspectors travel up to a 1,000 kilometres a month. Their fuel allowance should be increased from Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 7,500, Mr. Bandara said.
When PHIs went on strike in April, the Health Ministry promised to increase their allowances. To date, no increments have been given. |
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