Even as the Government claims that it provides chemically treated mosquito nets in the malaria prone area to prevent further spread of malaria, besides medicine and other measures, including two rounds of indoor residual spray, reports from different parts of Balangir district reveal a totally different picture.
According to sources, the number of people affected in brain malaria was on the rise in the district. A total of 4,542 people were detected as suffering from brain malaria in the district in 2013 and the number rose up to 7,493 in 2014.
According to sources, the Government of Odisha supplied chemically treated mosquito nets to the people to check further spread of malaria in 2009.The life span of the mosquito net is three years. Moreover, the chemically treated net is subject to wear and tear in the three year.
The Government should have supplied new chemically treated mosquito nets and replaced the old ones by 2012. However, due to some ‘hurdles in procurement and supply of the mosquito nets’ at State level, the old mosquito nets could not be supplied.
According to sources, the change of Government at the Centre also resulted in late arrival of money. Financial assistance for the year 2014-15 reached Balangir late in January, which affected the spraying of indoor residual spray in the district too. According to sources, indoor residual spray is taken on two rounds in a year, first in the second week of May and another in the second week of September.
When the money came in January, it could not be utilised. First of all, the new mosquito nets were not available since 2012 and to aggravate it, the residual spray was stopped, which resulted in increase in number of malaria patients including the brain malaria.
“This year, on the World Malaria Day we have started indoor residual spray in Patrapali village under lathore CHC of Khpakhol block, which is one of most malaria endemic blocks of the district and contributes around 40 per cent malaria deaths of the district,” said an official here. last year seven people had died due to malaria in the district, he informed.
Meanwhile, even though Balangir district has placed a requirement to supply 8, 57,000 mosquito nets for the people of the district after a door- to-door survey, it has been gathering dust at the State level leaving people in the lurch.