NA members demand declaration of national emergency over dengue spread

Kathmandu, Sept 11: In a meeting of the National Assembly (NA) today, lawmakers demanded the government declare a state of national emergency for the dengue virus spread across the country.

Taking time in a special hour of the NA session, Radheshyam Adhikari of Nepali Congress demanded this, seeking the Health Minister’s reply in the session to this regard. He cautioned the government to circular a message among the public that it could be cured by timely medical interventions.

“The disease has so far spread to 56 districts,” he said, demanding the declaration of national emergency. He further asserted that the Health Minister’s reply in regard with efforts that government was taking to control the disease was of a prime concern, questioning roles of the government, armies and police in this situation.

He also demanded the government to fix the dengue test charge, stating that private hospitals had been overcharging the public.

Nepal Communist Party (NCP)’s Komal Oli drew the attention of three-level government for collaboration to take the situation under control. “The situation is worsening”, she said, underlining the need of timely measures to tackle it at present and prevent even in the future.

Jitendra Narayan Dev accused the government of presenting itself in an immature manner during the recent Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit to Nepal and urged it to become clear in the coming days.

Ram Prit Paswan drew the attention of the government to the need of properly managing the landless squatters in the Tarai Madhes.

According to him, although land has been distributed in the Tarai Madhes in the name of providing it to the landless squatters from time to time, the genuine landless have not been benefited so far.

Alleging that land was allocated to the non-Madhesi landless squatters in the Tarai Madhes in the name of the Madhesi squatters, he said, “The problem of the landless squatters of the Madhesi origin in the Tarai is as it is.”

Bina Pokharel drew the government’s attention to manage well issues like law and order during the Dashain festival.

She called for stopping the cheating and irregularities in booking bus and airplane tickets, for fixing appropriate ticket price rate, for setting up fair-price shops and for stopping the price hike of daily essential commodities during the festival period.

Mahesh Kumar Mahara drew the government’s attention to the need of declaring the people killed in course of the Maoist conflict and the people’s movement as martyrs and for making provisions for the proper care and facilities to those injured and mutilated.