Cholera, a symptom of Govt.’s malaise: Lok Satta

Cholera in Hyderabad city, anthrax, typhoid and malaria in Agency areas and diarrhoea in many parts of the State are merely symptoms of a deep malaise afflicting the State administration.

Successive State Governments have apparently abdicated their responsibility of providing basic amenities like safe drinking water, toilet facilities and quality primary health care to people all over the State, charged the Lok Satta Party here today.

“It is, therefore, no wonder that deadly diseases break out at regular intervals,” party spokesman Katari Srinivasa Rao said in a media statement. “Instead of tackling the fundamental problems, the Government resorts to fire-fighting like suspending and transferring a few officials to assuage the agitated public.”

“What is tragic is that we have the resources and technologies but lack the will to address the problems.”

Because of its skewed priorities, the present Government has totally neglected primary and preventive care and focused its entire attention on tertiary care through ‘Arogyasri.’ Millions of people who suffer from routine ailments cannot avail themselves of ‘Arogyasri’, which is intended to benefit only a few lakhs of people requiring tertiary care. In Andhra Pradesh, there are primary centers without doctors and even when there are doctors, they don’t have drugs to dispense.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao said prudence dictates that a Government deploy its scarce resources to benefit the maximum number of people. There could be no greater priority than providing safe drinking water to people all over the State. “After all, people are not asking for the moon when they seek protected drinking water.”