Lack of will power exhibited by officials of the PMC and various government organisations ensured that the health sector suffered a massive setback in 2012. Killer diseases like swine flu and dengue wreaked havoc in the city
September to December
Vector-borne disease
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The ever-growing list of dengue patients is the result of its efforts to include patients from private hospitals as well. Until last year, the civic boy would only consider data accumulated by the National Institute of Virology (NIV).
About 1,027 dengue cases were registered with the PMC since January, out of which most of the cases were registered in September (137), October (270) and November (441). Though dengue claimed 12 lives this year, the Death Audit Committee report stated only six. The PMC officials claimed that out of 1,027 dengue cases only 746 were within the civic body's jurisdiction.
July to December
Gutkha seized
Ever since the government banned production, sale and storage of gutkha and paan masala in the state on July 11, officials of the Food and Drug Administration from Pune division sized gutkha packets worth Rs 2.1 crore from the entire division. Officials used solid waste plant facility in Ramtekdi, operated by Rochem Green Energy on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, to destroy the material. Gutkha worth Rs 54 lakh has been destroyed at the plant till date.Though the FDA succeeded in seizing gutkha packets, it remained unsuccessful in curbing its illegal import from other states. This month alone, FDA officials seized gutkha worth Rs 60,000 twice.
August 12 and November 5
Baby thefts
In the last five months, two incidents of baby thefts occurred in PMC and PCMC jurisdictions. On August 12, a two-day-old boy was stolen from the Sane Guruji hospital in Hadapasar. Similar incident took place on November 5 at YCM hospital in Pimpri-Chinchwad where a newborn baby was stolen within hours of delivery. Though police officials solved the YMC hospital baby theft case, Sane Guruji hospital case remains unsolved.
Female foeticide (Throughout 2012)
Soon after the horrific incident of large-scale female foeticide was exposed in Beed, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) took stringent actions sonography centres in the city violating norms. But soon the officials were transferred to various departments allowing offenders to creep back into the business. Though the PMC filed four cases in the court from January to May, the drive fizzled out soon after and not a single case or action against offenders was initiated in the last six months. A team of four doctors was appointed and trained for the special PCPNDT cell. But citing dearth of qualified doctors in the PMC to operate the cell, the project was scrapped. Now, instead of trained doctors, food inspectors are checking sonography machines.
H1N1 (Throughout 2012)
While 35 patients succumbed to the deadly H1N1 virus, 501 people tested positive since April 1 2012. The PMC now treats H1N1 as normal fever.u00a0
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