Viral fevers rampant in Dharmapuri town

Dharmapuri (Karimnagar): Residents of this ancient town famous for the Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple have been afflicted by viral and dengue fevers.

More than 1,000 people have been hospitalised. Unofficially, there are more than 50 cases of dengue. While Chavada Prameela and Vinod died in Dharmapuri, Shankar Goud died in Kamalapur. The poor are not being treated properly at the government hospital here. Those afflicted with dengue are forced to go to Jagtial and Karimnagar and spend lakhs for treatment.

There are several reasons for the outbreak of deadly diseases in the town where houses have been constructed in congested localities and several drainage canals have been found to be clogged. The dirty environment led to the rise of mosquitoes spreading several diseases.

Chintamani lake in the town, the pond in Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple and the stream in Tummlakunta have become a breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which spread dengue. Lachhiah, a villager from Nerella, told the media here on Tuesday that the Dharmapuri panchayat were indifferent in organizing sanitation drive. There was no full-fledged executive officer to take up cleanliness drive, he lamented. Mallaiah described as ‘unfortunate’ the government’s failure to take up sanitation even after three deaths to provide any medical aid. He alleged that more than 80 per cent of the population was not getting safe drinking water. They were forced to depend on private agencies for water supply.