80% rise in chikungunya cases in one week shows lack of preparedness among MCDs

With the whopping 80 per cent hike in chikungunya cases in last week, it seems that the three civic agencies are failing to tackle the menace this Monsoon season. On one hand, the Municipal officers have claimed to have carried out fumigation, on the other hand, the swelling figure of dengue and chikungunya cases are showing a completely different picture. 

According to the Municipal Corporation data, chikungunya cases in Delhi have shot up to 423, a massive rise in the figure released by civic authorities, who had reported just 20 cases until last week. According to the report released on Monday, 423 cases have been diagnosed in the national Capital till August 27.

While the fog usually mixes up in the air, officials have argued that fogging cannot kill mosquito larvae. Moreover, outdoor fogging is absolutely useless and cannot kill mosquitoes on which the Corporations are spending crores.

The appalling data has come during the time when the agencies — all three Corporations and the government — are claiming to have put their efforts to control the deadly disease. “We are trying our best to fight dengue. All anti-dengue machines are in place and workers are working round-the-clock to combat the deadly disease,” said Sanjeev Nayyar, North MCD Mayor.

A North MCD official said that around 15 to 20 employees have been deployed daily for fogging and spraying medicines in drains. “Two fogging machines have been given to us by MCD. The fumigation is carried out almost daily. There are open drains, congested houses so there was a need to conduct awareness programmes. With the help of school children, we carried out various anti-dengue awareness campaigns which helped us go a long way,” he added.

The Municipal health officers themselves argue that the public should be more vigilant about precautionary measures rather than forcing them to add poison to the already poisonous air of the city. In a bid to stop mosquito breeding and to kill adult mosquitoes, the MCDs take scores of measures such as anti-larval sprays and fogging/fumigation.

Anti-larval sprays contain Temephose EC, BTI (WP) and MLO (both insecticides made with petroleum products) which are hazardous for the health. While spraying, it creates a layer over water and 

helps in creating a vacuum which in turn stops breeding.