12 missions open doors for mosquito-breeding check

The health crisis in the city has prompted at least 12 high-security diplomatic missions to open their doors to municipal officials to check their premises for mosquito-breeding.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which has formed a task force to inspect various areas and spot mosquito-breeding, has also helped the embassies with fumigation in their premises.

As a precautionary measure, the civic body had written to embassies, requesting them to provide access to its staff for inspecting their premises. “We had written to all embassies, foreign missions, chanceries and residences of ambassadors, requesting them to let our staff inspect their premises and check for mosquito-breeding. Twelve of them have provided us access for inspection and remedial measures,” said RN Singh, Chief Medical Officer of NDMC.

The missions where inspection and fumigation have been conducted include Pakistan High Commission, Embassies of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Serbia, China, Bangladesh, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Ethopia.

The council staff inspect all buildings in NDMC areas every year to check mosquito-breeding. Notices are issued in the first phase and the defaulters are asked to reply within a week about the measures taken by them to check it. However, if in the second phase, breeding is still found on their premises, the NDMC issues challans to violators.

As foreign missions are not bound by law to allow the officials to check breeding, NDMC does not have an authority to issue challan or send notice to them. It can only help them with remedial steps. “We do not have the authority to issue a challan or notice to the embassies or foreign missions, but once we detect such conditions, we send our staff to take all remedial measures there including fumigation and destruction of larvae,” he said.

NDMC areas are home to the high and mighty of the country, including Union ministers, parliamentarians, offices of all the ministries, Supreme Court, Delhi high court and residences of Supreme Court judges, senior bureaucrats and senior military officers. Chanakyapuri also comes under the NDMC area.

The civic body has so far issued notices to 4,700 prominent buildings in NDMC areas, including President’s Estate, RML Hospital, AIIMS, Paryavaran Bhawan, Meghdoot Bhawan, Sanchar Bhawan, Baroda House, Kashmir House and Shivaji Stadium, after vector-carrying mosquitoes were found breeding in their premises.