Former Minister & ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Thursday demanded that the State Government take immediate measures to prevent the spread of epidemics in Hyderabad and other rain-hit areas of Telangana due to heavy rains and flood situation.
He was speaking to media persons at Narsingi during the filing of nomination by Congress candidate Ch. Srinivas Reddy for Dubbak Assembly by-elections.
Shabbir Ali said that the devastation caused due to floods was among the worst disasters Hyderabad has ever witnessed. He said that the damage could have been minimised if the State Government would’ve taken all precautionary measures on time. “Water has stagnated in almost all the areas of Hyderabad and other rain-hit areas. This might lead to spread of vector borne diseases like Malaria, Dengue, etc., Therefore, measures should be taken on a war-footing basis to clear the stagnated water from the residential areas. Fogging and anti-larval operations should also be taken up at a large scale,” he said.
The Congress leader said that the threat of outbreak of diseases was manifold in view of Covid-19 pandemic. “Experts have already warned of a possible second wave of Covid-19 in the coming weeks in view of the winter season. The recent rains have aggravated the situation, doubling the threat. People getting infected with malaria, dengue or viral fever are more prone to Covid-19 infection. Therefore, extra precaution should be taken to deal with the situation.
Shabbir Ali alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao never took any health crisis seriously. “The KCR Government took no measures during the outbreak of Dengue last year which claimed over 2,000 lives. It mishandled Covid-19 situation and even tried to suppress the real figures of cases and deaths. Now he is trying to downplay the flood situation and not showing any concern despite more than 20 deaths. He must change his behaviour at least now and take measures to prevent the spread of diseases,” he demanded.
The Congress leader also appealed to the people to protect themselves from the vector borne or other seasonal diseases besides continuing the safety precautions to prevent getting infected with Covid-19. Speaking about Dubbak by-elections, Shabbir Ali expressed confidence that the Congress party would win the seat with a huge majority as people were fed up with the TRS regime. He said that CM KCR has failed to fulfill any of the promises he has made with the people and TRS was just trying to win elections by using money and liquor. He appealed to the people to vote for the Congress party to teach the ‘arrogant and inefficient’ TRS regime a fitting lesson.