Concerned over last year’s alarming number of dengue cases, the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi have pulled up its socks to prevent the recurrence of a similar condition this season.
In order to beat the terror of Aedes mosquito, the civic bodies have appealed to people to not let the storage of open water around their houses and ordered the medical superintendents of all government hospitals to be prepared for dengue menace, if it arises.
“All the medical staff of hospitals coming under MCDs have been advised for dengue preparedness with the onset of monsoon in the city. Hospitals have been advised to create VBD Surveillance Committee with a Nodal officer, nursing superintendents/ supervisor, care taker and sanitation in-charge. We are coordinating with the Delhi government to avoid mosquitogenic conditions in Delhi,” said Dr Sanjeev Nayyar, Mayor North MCD.
The South Corporation Commissioner, Dr Puneet Kumar Goel has directed all departments concerned to work in tandem to prevent and control the vector-borne diseases which may pose a threat of high speed transmission during the next two months. The Commissioner requested all stake holders to intensify efforts keeping in view the increase in the number of dengue cases from 18 last year to more than 30 as on date.
Further, 6,300 cases at the national level last year has increased to 8,000 till date this year. “As monsoon is expected in Delhi with the onset of July, it becomes our responsibility to coordinate and communicate in an effective manner to prevent breeding of mosquitoes,” said the Commissioner.
North Corporation Commissioner Praveen Kumar Gupta said that before the onset of monsoon, proper outfall of all drains coming under its jurisdiction are to be ensured so that citizens do not experience any hassle due to waterlogging. He added that the Corporation has done almost all preparations to face monsoon and all vulnerable points are being taken care of.
The civic bodies have stressed the need to observe a day — preferably Sunday — in a week to ensure thorough cleaning of all potential water stagnation points to eliminate breeding of mosquitoes and larvae. The participating inter-sectoral partner departments should be given specific roles and responsibilities to speed up their efforts to mitigate the threat from Aedes mosquitoes. It was also decided to strengthen the monitoring of the DBCs and call for weekly update for all stake holders. In North and East Corporation, one lakh mosquito nets were distributed by each of the three Corporations to deal with Aedes menace. Rohini zone ward committee chairman Devender Solanki directed sanitation-level officials to work efficiently for dengue prevention and its control.
The Engineering Department of the civic bodies and other agencies such as DDA, CPWD, PWD, DMRC and Northern Railways have been requested to provide an access to roof top and overhead tanks in all offices and residential complexes to facilitate checking of mosquito breeding, provide lids to cover the uncovered overhead tanks and ensure that the empty drum and container are placed under cover or keep them upside down. The Flood and Irrigation Department along with others have been asked to remove hyacinth from the waterbodies and drains and provide help to the health department for taking anti-larval measures.