Hubballi: “The district health department has issued notices to all private laboratories which conduct dengue tests and charged over Rs 500 for the same”, said District surveillance officer Dr SV Garag speaking to a daily.

The district surveillance squad, listing the government guidelines slapped notices on private laboratories for charging bigger sums. According to the reports some private laboratories also charged around Rs 1,200-1,500.

Garag said that four members of the district surveillance team and senior technicians will visit laboratories every Tuesday, to not only examine the laboratory process, but also see how much is charged for the test.

“If anybody is found charging more than the specified amount, stern action will be taken under the Act meant for private medical practitioners,” he added.

Dr Pushpa HR, district health officer for Dharwad said that soon after the health minister’s announcement about the test rates, the district surveillance team was told to keep tabs on all private laboratories and initiate stringent action against the violators.