Bonkal mandal in Telangana's Khammam district may be one of the worst affected places in the recent outbreak of dengue across the state, with over 300 cases and 20 deaths in the area.
Writing for The New Indian Express, B Satyanarayana Reddy reported:
As per officials records, as many as 770 dengue cases have been identified in the district till present and of these, 312 have been identified in Bonkal alone. As per information around 4,000 people have been treated for viral fevers at the Government hospital in Bonkal mandal headquarters...Almost all the private and government hospitals in Bonkal, Vijayawada and Khammam are packed with dengue cases.
The TNIE report also quotes locals blaming authorities for the situation, claiming that sanitation in the mandal was very poor.
Meanwhile The Hindu reported that two women from the mandal died of suspected dengue in the early hours of Wednesday.
The report added that a high-level medical team headed by Hyderabad-based Fever Hospital Superintendent K Shankar visited the mandal and monitored the treatment being doled out to the patients.
The heavy rains in Hyderabad and parts of Telangana last month saw a large number of admissions in dengue wards.
The state government is setting up medical camps to provide treatment and is creating awareness among the public.