KATHMANDU: Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives, drew the attention of the government toward the threat of the spread of dengue in the country. He also directed the government to inform the parliament about this topic as soon as possible.

The Speaker made this special ruling to the government after the lawmakers drew the government’s attention since some days back in parliament and also in the ‘zero hour’ of the parliament today regarding the dengue menace.

The Speaker said: “The lawmakers, in the meeting of the parliament held since some days, have been consistently raising the issue of the spread of dengue. I draw the attention of the government to the need of informing the parliament regarding the situation of the disease’ threat and the efforts being made to contain it.”

The lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties, speaking in the ‘zero hour’ of the meeting today, had sought a clear response from the government regarding the spread of the dengue, stating that it was taking epidemic form.

They had called the attention of the government regarding the need to inform the parliament at the earliest on the status of dengue said to be spreading in an epidemic form and the measures taken for its control.

Ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmaker Krishna Gopal Shrestha said the government failed to give clear information to the parliament regarding dengue and urged the government for the same.

“When will the government wake up and after how many lawmakers are infected with the disease? The Minister for Health and Population should give his response on this topic,” he demanded.

Similarly, NCP lawmaker Khaga Raj Adhikari sought a clear response from the government whether dengue has assumed an epidemic form or is only a menace. “There is an extensive rumor about the spread of dengue throughout the country. Is it an only threat or has the disease actually taken epidemic proportion? If it has taken epidemic form, a program should be implemented in a planned manner to prevent the disease through the efforts of all including the lawmakers,” he said.

Juli Kumari Mahato, Uma Regmi, Sanjaya Kumar Gautam, Teju Lal Chaudhari and Sujata Pariyar among the lawmakers of the Nepali Congress drew the attention of the Ministry of Health to the spread of dengue and the lack of dengue test kits.

Lawmakers Gagan Thapa, Ganesh BK, Ghanashyam Khatiwada, Shesh Chand Tara, Uma Shankar Argariya, Asha Kumari BK, Indu Kumari Sharma raised various burning issues in the country including the spread of dengue at an alarming rate and called the attention of the government to address these problems.