BANGALORE: The Government came under attack in the Legislative Assembly on Monday from the Opposition and Treasury benches for having failed to check the spread of chikungunya, a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes.

Members charged the Government with failing to take preventive measures to control the disease. The principal Opposition party, the Congress, staged a walkout in protest against what it termed the Government's inadequate response in tackling the disease.

Leader of the Opposition N. Dharam Singh raised the issue during Zero Hour and said chikungunya was spreading rapidly because of shortage of medicines, staff and fogging machines. Though several thousand people had been infected, the Government had not released enough funds to hospitals to purchase medicines, he charged.

Mr. Singh said there was a need to create a momentum to combat the disease on the lines of the one initiated to fight malaria. The Government should allocate more funds and appoint doctors and paramedical staff to treat patients. If immediate steps were not taken, the disease would spread even more rapidly, especially in rural areas. Those who got the disease would not be able to work for at least a month, he said.

He was supported by Siddaramaiah (AIPJD), P.G.R. Sindhia and A. Srinivas (JD-S), J.C. Madhuswamy (JD-U) and a couple of BJP members.

Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa had a tough time in replying to the concerns of the members. He said the disease had spread widely in all parts of the State. Minister for Health R. Ashok had visited the districts where the disease had been reported on a large scale and steps had been taken on a war footing to control it. There was no shortage of funds to purchase medicines or fogging machines. Adequate quantity of medicines had been supplied to all hospitals, he said.

The Government would use the services of private doctors, if required, to check the spread of chikungunya. Mobile clinics and medical teams would be despatched to affected villages. It was difficult to control the disease as mosquitoes breed in vessels, water tanks, drums and other containers in which water collected,

At one stage, Mr. Sindhia and Mr. Yediyurappa were engaged in a heated argument.

Meeting to be convened

Mr. Yediyurappa said he would ask Mr. Ashok to make a statement on the issue in the House on Tuesday and explain the steps taken to contain the disease. He would convene a meeting of officials of the Health Department and leaders of Opposition parties to decide on preventive measures.

The Congress members, who were not satisfied with the reply, staged a walkout.

At that stage, Speaker Krishna adjourned the House for lunch.

During the discussion, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Government was not serious about controlling chikungunya. The poor in the villages were the worst affected by the disease since they were dependent on manual labour for their livelihood. The disease would make them bedridden for quite a few days. Taluk and zilla panchayats, which had no money to pay electricity bills, had been instructed by the Government to purchase fogging machines, he said.

Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli (Congress) said the disease had infected over 90 per cent of the people in his constituency.

Narendra Babu (Congress) said many people had been infected with chikungunya in his Rajajinagar constituency, and private nursing homes were charging as much as Rs. 1,400 to test blood samples for the disease.

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