Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have once again been clamped in the city in view of the rise in epidemic cases. The orders, issued by the District Collector will be in place for the next two months.
Collector K N Satheesh said that the prohibitory orders were declared in view of the dengue cases that have been on the rise and due to the threat of a hantavirus that was detected in a patient in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
While hantaviruses are known to cause fatal diseases in humans, people may be infected with hantaviruses through urine, saliva or contact with rodent waste products.
“When people throw away waste here and there, the number of rodents will increase. This will pave the way for such rodent-borne diseases,” said the Collector.
However, District Medical Officer Peethambaran denied any such threat of an epidemic from hantavirus. The health officials said that there had been no drastic spurt in the number of dengue cases in Thiruvananthapuram, even though 60 percent of all dengue cases in the state had been reported from the city.
“In fact, the incidence of dengue has come down in September when compared to the months of June, July and August,” said ADHS Pradeep Kumar.
Pradeep Kumar said that while as many as 500 cases were reported in June and July, the number had come down to 100 to 150 cases in September and that there was no need for any panic. While the dengue cases have been low, the logic behind the prohibitory orders lacked clarity.
DMO Peethambaran said that the garbage management had hit a new low in the city.
“What the Collector meant must have been that the sanitation conditions of the city is so bad that any disease outbreak is possible,” he said.
Collector K N Satheesh said that strict action would be taken against people who throw away domestic and other waste in public places.
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