Thanks to councils, govt. has now withheld LLINs

EMN Dimapur, March 9 Nagaland and her thirst for money seem endless enough to affect even basic, free public incentives. Thanks to village councils, wards and colonies in Dimapur charging money for the free Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs), the health authorities have discontinued issuing LLINs until further notice. “Despite repeated appeal/press release on free distribution of LLIN by National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, it has come to the notice of the authority that some villages/wards in and around Dimapur are still collecting money from the public for the LLIN,” the health authorities said in state notification on Tuesday. “So, the authority has decided that the LLIN distribution to these areas will be discontinued until further notice,” it added. Earlier, the directorate of Health and Family Welfare had even issued warning to local authorities and village council who were allegedly selling or charging fees for the LLINs. LLINs are for free, the department had stated. The department had also directed the local authorities or councils that have taken money to reimburse the money immediately. “It has come to the notice of the department that the authority/councils of some wards and villages are charging money from the public for the Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets. Therefore the department requests the responsible authority/councils not to realize any charge from the public but to assist the department in the fair distribution of the LLINs to the community,” the notice stated. “The department also requests the concerned authority/councils to reimburse the public with their money wherever the collection has already taken place.” The National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme of the directorate of Health and Family Welfare stated that the government of India had supplied the Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets for free distribution to places with high incidences of malaria. Mention may be made here citizens in Dimapur had complained that charges, including reports of so-called “transportation fee”, were being exacted from residents availing the benefit.