Palaniswami Accuses TVK Government of Failing to Contain Dengue Surge

AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has accused the TVK government of failing to act quickly against the spread of dengue in Tamil Nadu, saying hospitals are under pressure and residents need immediate protection.

Citing health department figures, he said the state had recorded 17,348 dengue cases and 4,653 scrub typhus cases as of September 21, with 71 dengue cases confirmed on September 21 alone.

Palaniswami alleged that the government's failure to take preventive measures had allowed cases to rise across the state, and said beds in both government and private hospitals were filling up. He called for treatment facilities and mosquito control work to be expanded urgently.

He also said the government had ignored warnings from the public and the media about dengue, and criticised the Health Minister for missing a meeting chaired by the Director of Public Health on measures to contain the disease.

The statement follows the death of a 20-year-old final-year engineering student of Anna University in Chennai, which was linked to scrub typhus. Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan had appealed to parents and students not to panic, saying dengue was not behind the death, and directed the university to carry out cleaning and sanitation work on the campus.