The state Urban Development department has pulled up seven civic bodies for their failure to conduct drives in combating malaria and dengue.
The department has sent notices urging the authorities of the civic bodies to pull up their socks and take up the matter immediately. It may be recalled that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked all the civic bodies to carry out drives to kill the larvae of malaria and dengue regularly.
The errant civic bodies are Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, South Dum Dum, Dum Dum, Kamarhati, Rishra, Serampore and Baranagore Municipalities.
Senior officials of state Urban development department visited these civic bodies and found that the measures taken up by them to combat malaria and dengue are inadequate. Most of them do not carry out anti-larvae drives regularly. None of them has concrete plan of actions. The officials gave a report to Firhad Hakim, state minister for Urban development department following which a high-level meeting was held where it was decided to pull them up for their failure to take up the drives seriously.
Senior officials of Urban Development department said anti-larvae drives are not carried out in vast areas in Salt Lake which comes under the jurisdiction of Bidhannagar municipality. Salt Lake also houses hundreds of Central and state government offices, educational institutions, nursing homes and hospitals. But due to lack of planning, visits to the hospital by senior officials of Bidhannagar Municipality to oversee the anti-larvae drives are done very rarely. They said as the Municipalities do not make plans beforehand, they are absolutely helpless when the outbreak of the mosquito-borne diseases take place.
It may be mentioned that Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is the only civic body in the state which has prepared a comprehensive policy to combat malaria and dengue and drives along with awareness campaigns are conducted throughout the year.
The Health department workers along with the members of Rapid Action Team (RAT) visit the houses and inspect the underground reservoirs and overhead tanks in individual houses and apartments along with offices, schools, hospitals and nursing homes. The errant owners are given notices. Mayor-in-Council member Atin Ghosh is present in most of the drives.