Vijayawada:�Chief Secretary K Vijayanand has directed district collectors to take strong action to prevent spread of seasonal diseases in the state during the monsoon season.
Holding a video conference with collectors and officials on Thursday from the state secretariat, he took up issues of the Swarnandhra P-4 Foundation, the control measures for seasonal diseases, management of various welfare hostels, among other issues.
The CS said the spread of water-borne and vector-borne diseases should be prevented during the monsoon season. There should also be strong action against spread of diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya.
Collectors should hold a meeting with the DM&HO and superintendents from time to time. Daily monitoring is a must. All the drinking water pipelines in rural and urban areas should be kept in good condition without leakages.
The government, he said, has set a target to adopt 15 lakh Bangaru families by August 15. Appropriate support should be provided to every poor family through the Margadarshis. Cleanliness should be maintained and sanitation improved in welfare hostels and residential schools. Toilets should be fully operational.
These apart, he said, collectors should ensure that healthy food is provided to the students, as per the prescribed menu. Manage the hostels in a way that there is no scope for contamination of food and drinking water.
Special chief secretary Krishna Babu clarified that cases of dengue and chikungunya were less compared to last year. While 2696 malaria cases were registered in the first six months last year, 4536 cases were registered in the first six months this year. Special steps should be taken to prevent malaria.
While cholera was completely under control till 2014, cases have been registered since last year. Some cases were registered in Mangalagiri AIIMS due to contamination of the newly laid fresh water pipeline. Steps should be taken to completely control open defecation and prevent leakage of fresh water pipelines along drains, he said.
Krishna Babu stressed that the Friday Dry Day programme should be implemented with more seriousness. Principal secretary Piyush Kumar, social welfare secretary MM Nayak, AP Transco JMD Kirti, RTGS CEO Prakhar Jain, Planning JS Ananth Shankar and other officers attended the meeting along with the collectors in virtual mode.
