Mayor goes on cleaning spree at Chetla as part of awareness campaign against dengue

Kolkata: Mayor Firhad Hakim led an awareness campaign against dengue in his own ward at Chetla on Sunday morning. Wearing gloves, he was also seen removing garbage with his own hands. The Mayor also conducted drives in the local market to curb the use of plastic below 40 microns.

"Stagnant water is the breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes. It is the job of every single citizen to keep his/her ward clean for the sake of keeping his family and children safe and secure from the vector-borne disease. All the councillors in the city will take up similar awareness initiatives to curb the disease," Hakim said, adding that awareness is the key to fight dengue. Children from a local school also took part in the awareness rally.

It may be mentioned that the Mayor had held a high-level meeting with senior officials of the state Health department at the KMC headquarters on November 8, with multiple cases of dengue being reported from Kolkata, Howrah and the peri-urban areas in the state.

He stressed on clean-up drives, particularly at places like banks of ponds and backsides of hospitals where garbage accumulates and water remains stagnant. Dengue in the city has seen a sudden rise soon after Durga Puja.

Meanwhile, Hakim also warned vegetable vendors against use of plastic below 40 micron and confiscated a number of such plastic bags that were being used.

"I will hold an awareness campaign soon with the market committee and will make it clear to them that plastic below 40 micron is prohibited and cannot be used," he added.

Till date, there have been six fatal dengue cases this year in Kolkata, while the number of people affected with the disease is over 25,000.

Chairman of South Dum Dum Municipality Pachu Roy also held an awareness rally against dengue on Sunday morning.