Bhopal: Rs 5 lakh for vector, epidemic control not enough, says Cong

Seventy-five H1N1 flu and six dengue deaths later epidemic and vector control section continues to remain low on Bhopal Municipal Corporation's (BMC) priority list.

The municipal budget has apportioned just Rs 5 lakh for epidemic and vector control.

A total of Rs 2,700 crore budget was tabled by mayor Alok Sharma on March 31.

"The BMC (has) increased the budget for purchasing fogging machines, but that is not sufficient,” a municipal officer, on condition of anonymity, said.

"Primarily (the) health department deals (with) dengue and H1N1 spread, but the BMC is also shares the burden of regulating it…We were expecting more budget for epidemic and vector control so that we could control the situation."

Criticising the budget, Congress corporator Girish Sharma said, "The new mayor-in-council (has) focused more on (the) engineering department and on making (Bhopal) a smart city. In the budget, Rs 102 crore have been allocated for parking only. But, they should have kept in mind that these things could be looked after by other departments. To keep the city clean and control mosquito growth in water tanks is the primary duty of (the) BMC."

Corporators have also accused the mayor of ignoring slum development in the budget. Only Rs 20 lakh has been earmarked for slum development and rehabilitation in the budget, while Rs 2.45 crore has been allocated for developing amusement centre and museum and Rs 6.92 crore for community and marriage centre.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, continued to pass the buck and said epidemic control was the health department's responsibility.

"We have just secured a head (in the budget) so that we could get funds in case of epidemic. This is basically the work of health department, not the BMC's," mayor-in-council member and senior BJP corporator KM Soni said.