Kolkata: With the city witnessing rainfall, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has added more teeth to its measures to keep a check on vector-borne diseases and as part of this most vacant premises in the city are under the radar of the civic body.
The civic body has further intensified its drive against vector-borne diseases to ensure there is no massive breakout.
The chance of an outbreak is the highest during monsoon and immediately after. The main reason behind this is the accumulation of garbage and the collection of rainwater in them. This provides a breeding ground for the mosquitoes. A KMC official said that the civic body started the campaigns this year in January.
Presently, public announcement is being done in all wards and people are being advised against storing water in open containers or buckets. They are also being advised to ensure that the covers of the overhead tanks are closed. Advisory leaflets are being distributed to the people, said the official.
Apart from these, the civic body is also carrying out anti-larval spraying to destroy the mosquito breeding grounds. If any citizen is found violating the rules then KMC is initially issuing a notice under Section 496 of the KMC Act. The official said that in case one is found not following the advisory even after issuing warnings, KMC will take strict action. Recently, the civic body fined two properties Rs one lakh each for letting garbage and water accumulate on their premises. One among them was a vacant plot without any maintenance.
KMC officials said that the risk of vector-borne diseases is higher in South Kolkata than in the North. The reasons cited are a higher number of vacant premises, under-construction buildings and water bodies. In 2022, the number of dengue affected was over 6000 from January to November. The number of affected in South Kolkata Boroughs was over 4,000 while in North it was near 1500.