Construction sites shouldn't have stagnant water, urban civic body chiefs told

KOLKATA: At a high-level meeting—chaired by Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi—held at Nabanna on Friday afternoon to prevent the spread of dengue in the state, Commissioners of all the Municipal Corporations were asked to ensure that there was no stagnant water at the construction sites in the respective areas under their jurisdiction.

All the civic bodies had been asked to carry out massive awareness drives against the vector-borne disease. The Commissioners of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, Howrah Municipal Corporation, Asansol Municipal Corporation, Siliguri Municipal Corporation and Chandannagar Municipal Corporation attended the meeting.

All District Magistrates were present along with the Superintendents of the state-run medical colleges and Chief Medical Health Officers. Senior officials of the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department were also present at the meeting. The Commissioner of KMC Binod Kumar had been asked to ensure that there was no stagnant water at the sites, where construction of Metro was underway.

Dwivedi said in the past two years a few Dengue cases had been reported. However, he said the cases were on the rise in 2022. Though there was no reason to panic, civic bodies and other agencies should be on their guard, he added.

Special drives should be conducted at the central government offices and housing complexes to ensure that garbage gets cleared every day, he said. The DMs were asked to launch awareness campaigns. It was emphasised that the civic authorities should carry out garbage cleaning drives regularly. Teams should be formed to carry out anti-larvae drives, Dwivedi added. The hospital Superintendents were asked to keep arrangements ready so that people afflicted with the disease could be admitted.