The government was totally unprepared for the dengue calamity and lives are lost, mostly children, by the unabated spread of the disease. Till now number of death is 52, as government estimation. But unofficially the number is 123. The hospitals cannot take any more patients in many places. Our doctors and nurses are working tirelessly day and night to be of help to the dengue patients empty handed. Fresh medicines are yet to arrive to fulfil the needs. The situation in hospitals is pathetic and our lack of preparedness make all of us angry.
There was need for all the year activity against breeding of dengue mosquitoes. The officials have nothing to worry because the people are nobody as having no vote to form their government. It is of no surprise that no government functionary feels any accountability to the people. This is not the situation to have good governance and public services.
For the good of the people whatever be the constitutional outrage committed against the election we all want the sitting government to be effective. Nobody wants to see a government made itself incapacitated for saving lives against deaths by dengue epidemic.
Dengue is nothing new in our country and it was expected to spread. The World Health Organisation warned the government as early as January this year about returning of dengue fever. But the Health Ministry and city corporations were indulging in the pride of being in power and mouthing exceptional success of the government not enjoyed by the people.
Joining the corruption packs for making money is almost the first important business to be engaged in by the people in power. For the Dhaka City Corporations Tk 50 crore earmarked for using pesticide against Aedes mosquitoes just disappeared in no time.
The thought of preparing themselves for the dengue epidemic on its way did not come across their minds.
But the reality is the whole constitutional structure of governance responsibly has been broken with no intention of knowing how to make it workable. The government’s smashed democratic policy has made the whole government machinery unaccountable and the officials have sunk into deep corruption.
To become millionaires has become the business of the politics. The government is in anarchic condition no less for reasons of corruption. Some big heads should have rolled for the negligence of duty in dealing with dengue crisis. But nothing like that happened.
So when their Lordships of the High Court Division expresses disappointment and issues directions asking again and again the government to be effective in fighting deaths by dengue epidemic, we painfully notice efforts to manipulate dengue situation. Some in the government look unfavourably towards the judiciary.
The government is too disorganised to be suddenly efficient. To make the government efficient to fight against inefficiency the least the government can do is to curb corruption within the government.
Only then all the organs of the government will get the right message.
A senior politician lately asked who runs the government. The answer should have come from him. But he would not dare. This question must be answered by politicians who are supposed to know what is going on in the government. The way the government is run is unbelievable.
Corruption being the consolidating force for survival there is no motive for the government to be honest and fight their own corruption.
