TEAM HERALD
OLD GOA: The Chimbel panchayat authorities and the Betki health authorities were at loggerheads over the implementation of suggestions at the advocacy workshop to control the spread of vector-borne diseases.
Speaking at the workshop, Chimbel Deputy Sarpanch Chandrakant Kunkolkar sought to know what role the health authorities were playing to implement suggestions like keeping the surroundings clean, cleaning of drainages, etc.
“Is the role of the health authorities only to give lectures,” asked Kunkolkar.
Responding to the query, Betki PHC HO Dr Celine Noronha shot back stating that they (panchayat) are the authorities involved in taking preventive measures.
“It is not our duty to clean the drainages or clear the garbage in the village,” she added, while stating that health authorities can at the most undertake fogging, larval spraying or sometimes even cleaning parts of drainages where water stagnation occurs.
“Creating awareness on vector-borne diseases among the villagers is very important and it can be done only if elected representatives, prominent persons, committee members and others are first educated on the issue so that they spread the message in the village,” she added.
Deputy Sarpanch Kunkolkar then complained that health authorities were not acting on complaints by the panchayats, whenever sewage was being released in the open.
“This emboldens the violators who then take the panchayat authorities for granted,” Kunkolkar said and added that health authorities should immediately disconnect water and power connections of the violators.
However, Dr Noronha opined that ever since she has taken charge as health officer of Betki PHC since one and a half year back, she immediately acted upon the complaints.
