Thursday 1 October 2015

Living on the edge

Living on the edge
  Today when I went to the pathological lab for a simple blood test, I saw a small boy, a dengue patient, waiting for his turn. The small boy, I heard, was coming twice a day to check his platelet count. The tired and worried parents were eagerly waiting for the report. I could relate to their tension as I also have a son of the same age.
The kid was suffering from dengue, a disease that has wreaked havoc in Delhi-NCR this year. This year, a vast majority of those affected, including the victims, are children. Experts say the outbreak is only likely to intensify in by mid-October.
I wonder, aren’t we living on the edge year after year. Are we paying the price of living in a big city? With the onset of monsoon every year, dengue raises its ugly head and people live in fear with each passing day. We start taking precautions by not opening doors and windows even in day hours as the dengue mosquito bites in the morning and during day time. This year, a circular was sent from my son’s school, asking them to wear full sleeves shirt and long trousers in summer time; most of big schools are air-conditioned and so sending them fully covered wouldn’t be a problem for those studying there. But what about kids in government schools where there is no guarantee that the rickety fan would work. Wouldn’t they sweat just because the government is trying to cover up its own failure to check mosquito-breeding than the kids?
In the evening again, I cannot stop him from going to the park so cover him in this humid September to protect him from that nasty bite.
Recently, the swimming pool of our society was closed after two children had dengue fever. Only then, reality struck our management members that dengue mosquito breeds in clean water. Every year dengue is at its peak in October, the festival season. And there is no respite till Diwali night when smoke from crackers stops these tiny killers. But is this a healthy solution?
But are these protections enough? Come winter and again another fear will start worrying us -- swine flu. In peak summer when people from other places dread to come to the national capital, we feel safe as the hot sun protects us at least from these diseases.
Then there is the constant fear of air pollution; it is said after 10 years Delhi will be counted among the most polluted cities in the world. I think it is already there. If these killer diseases are taking toll year after year why doesn’t the government take precautions beforehand? Simple steps like cleaning drains, cutting unnecessary hedges and bushes, stopping dumping of garbage here and there, conducting fumigation drives across all places not only in the posh areas, covering areas where stagnant water accumulates. These are enough to restrict disease from spreading.
The common people must also take responsibility to keep their surroundings clean along with their houses. Instead, our political parties are busy in a blame game. When in power, their term gets over before taking any sincere step and when in opposition their only task is to blame the ruling party. This year, the unofficial death toll is already nearing 50. Delhi had witnessed a large number of dengue cases in 2010, with over 6,200 cases.
This year, the death of a seven-year- old dengue patient followed by his parents’ suicide was shocking. Every year we read, we feel bad and then we forget until a similar story hits the headlines next year. We think this can happen to others and not us.
In such emergency situations, why can’t private hospitals open their doors for the poor at nominal rates so that they don’t have to run from pillar to post? Sometimes they are shown the door saying no beds are available, sometimes they are told treatment not possible there. Initiatives to improve the conditions of the government hospitals will help in controlling such diseases in the long run. Till then, living on the edge will become a routine affair and part of our daily lives.


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