Mysore/Mysuru, Jan. 24 -- Public health at risk as State abolishes Health Officer's post

The State Government has abolished the post of Health Officer in the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC). This move has triggered serious concerns about the city's preparedness to handle outbreaks of communicable diseases such as cholera and dengue.

With the post scrapped, the responsibilities of the Health Officer will now be handled additionally by the Executive Engineer of the Corporation's Environment Department, a decision critics say undermines decades of public health safeguards.

While five City Corporations within the Greater Bengaluru Authority limits will continue to have designated Health Officers, the Government has eliminated the post in all...