K'taka High Court seeks report on Monkey Disease spreading in Malenadu

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, August 11 directed the State government to submit a comprehensive report on measures taken in 2020 to prevent the spread of Monkey disease in Shivamogga and other parts of Malenadu.

A divisional bench of the court headed by Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Ashok S Kinagi passed this directive in response to Public Interest Litigation filed by two lawyers from Shivamogga K P Shripal and N G Rameshappa.

At the hearing, the petitioner’s advocate D Kashinath argued that Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Dakshina Kannada district were most vulnerable to the disease infecting more than 15 people.

The government had earlier, in reply to the petition, has stated the steps taken by it in the year 2019 for the control of the disease and the treatment of the affected persons. Therefore, it was brought to the notice of the court that no measures were taken to control the aggravation of the disease in 2020.