How serious is govt about malaria eradication in Kandhamal ?

Reported by Simanchal Pattanaik
Phulbanij, May 3:

Although the district administration and the Health department have achieved tremendous success in the eradication of malaria in Odisha’s Kandhamal district, the state government appears not keen on providing the required financial assistance to sustain their campaign.

The callousness of the state government in this regard has triggered widespread resentment among the people in the district, reports said.

This comes as a surprise because the state government had launched a grand statewide ‘Nidhi Mausa’ campaign to eradicate malaria, dengue and diarrhoea from the state.

Reports said, as against Rs 2.5 crore sought by the district administration to take the anti-malaria campaign forward, the state government has provided a meagre Rs 55 lakh assistance, which works out to about one-fifth of the total requirement.

Of the Rs 55 lakh provided by the state government, Rs 47 lakh is earmarked for the salaries and allowances of the employees engaged in the campaign while the rest Rs 8 lakh is being utilized for anti-malaria campaign, official sources said.

In spite of the paltry assistance, the Health department has done a great job as the district till March this year has recorded zero mortality, reports said.

As per the statistics of the Health department, while 49 people had died of Malaria in 2008, the mortality rate came down to 35 in 2009. Though there was a marginal rise in the number of deaths (39) in 2010, the number came down sharply to only just 4 deaths in 2011, six in 2012 and one in 2013.