CJ irked at health secretary’s dengue report

Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry on Friday expressed serious displeasure over a report submitted by Punjab Health Secretary Jahanzeb Khan about the measures being taken by provincial government to control dengue and provide prompt remedy to its patients.
The judge also reprimanded Lahore District Coordination Officer (DCO) Ahad Cheema for not filing a separate report about the performance of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) on the matter. The report presented by the secretary stated that anti-dengue mosquito spray was being conducted in the whole city and specials wards had been established at all public hospitals for dengue patients. It said that 5,019 cases of dengue had been reported in the city until now.
The CJ pointed out that people were seen complaining that spray had not been conducted in their areas and patients were not being properly treated at hospitals. He said that the court wanted to know that when the first anti-dengue spray was conducted in the city, from where the medicine used for the spray was imported and also the quantity and quality of the medicine being used for the purpose.
The secretary said that the dengue mosquito had migrated to Pakistan a few years ago and it could not be killed through spray. The CJ remarked that had the Punjab government conducted spray at the initial stage of dengue breeding, the situation would not have been so serious. “The first spray was to be done in February but the Punjab government failed to discharge its responsibility,” he remarked and reminded Jahanzeb that the authorities responsible will be taken to task.
The LHC CJ observed that the matter was directly related to fundamental rights of citizens and the court could not be oblivious. He regretted that the epidemic was playing havoc with the lives of people and the Punjab government had not come up with any concrete rescue plan. He directed the secretary and DCO to submit detailed reports about the performance of the provincial government and the CDGL and appear on September 23.
Advocate Noshab A Khan filed a petition in the public interest and requested the court that the health secretary be ordered to ensure free medical facility to dengue patients and action be taken against the authorities responsible, which showed criminal negligence in saving lives of citizens. The petitioner-lawyer stated that the Punjab government had no satisfactory answer as to why they appeared to be dragging their feet on such basic initiatives, as mapping the extent of the spread of the virus.
Noshab requested the court to take to task the respondents who were late in recognising the magnitude of the threat and failed to gauge the scale of the outbreak. He also requested that the respondents be summoned in court to explain their negligence in the greatest interest of justice, equity and fair play.