Curb dengue: Spl cleanliness & mop up drive in over 43 marked areas

KOLKATA: Under the Integrated vector control and management programme, the state government has started cleanliness drive three days a week followed by mop up drive in various civic areas where dengue cases were reported in the past two years.

Over 43 areas have been demarcated in various municipality areas as virtually mosquito breeding grounds.

Urban development department has already chalked out a detailed road map of the programme which will be conducted till October this year in a phased manner.

Urban development and municipal affairs department is going to open a helpline number where people can register their complaint if the area is not cleaned properly.

The vector-borne diseases control programme will be monitored through a web portal.

The 43 areas which have been identified as mosquito breeding grounds fall under various municipal areas such as Bongaon, Madhyamgram, Basirhat, Naihati in North 24-Parganas and some parts of New Town, Dum Dum as well. These areas also fall under Bankura, Maheshtala in South 24-Parganas and Uttarpara in Hooghly.

Apart from the 43 areas, around 83 more spots have been identified which also reported some dengue cases in the past couple of years.

It has been decided that a 5-member team will be there in every ward which will carry out an anti dengue campaign.

A health supervisor and a conservancy supervisor will monitor the programme.

The team will visit at least 60 houses per day. The cleanliness drive will be performed from Monday to Wednesday. After the cleanliness drive, a mop up drive will also be done on the weekend. According to sources, the anti dengue drive will be intensified from July to November when the infected cases are mostly reported.

As a part of the programme, the state health department has also decided to take up round the year surveillance to prevent vector borne diseases as some health experts apprehend that there may be a dengue surge later this year with a sharp drop in Covid cases.

A road map is underway which will involve multiple government departments and thereby taking a holistic approach for better dengue management. During the previous years the dengue cases in the state were comparatively on the lower side when Covid infection reached its peak.

There is an apprehension among the experts that there may be a surge in dengue this year with the Covid sub-siding gradually.

There will be a multi-pronged approach to tackle dengue which includes procurement and supply of larvicide to various civic bodies and panchayats, supply of guppy fish, destroying mosquito breeding grounds. An emphasis has been given on house-to-house surveys.

A mobile app will be developed by the West Bengal Medical Service Corporations (WBMSC) to monitor the vector control activities by

various municipalities.