‘Dengue spread due to abandoned quarters of Railways’

Siliguri: Gautam Deb, Mayor of Siliguri, alleged that Railways are not cooperating in controlling dengue in the city. There are many abandoned Railway quarters under Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) where garbage accumulates and water stagnates due to rains, providing breeding grounds for mosquito larvae. As a result, dengue cases are on the rise in the city.

Deb alleged that the Railways have been informed about this several times but they have not paid heed to the matter or even cleaned the abandoned quarters. The Mayor even expressed his anger on the issue in front of the media.

“We are determined to keep the city clean, but the Railways are not helping us in this. Their abandoned quarters are full of garbage, but they are not cleaning it and they are not letting us do it. As a result, those quarters have become hotbeds of dengue. We are now asking senior Railway officials,” Deb added.

During the monsoon season, dengue cases are increasing. The number of patients with fever, especially children below 12 years are getting admitted to Siliguri District Hospital.

The hospital authorities are also preparing to tackle the situation. The authorities are planning to set up a separate fever clinic if required, said a hospital source.

After the death of a 9-year-old child in Ward 7, parents are getting worried about their children. SMC is also pushing to keep the city clean. Vector Control Teams (VCT) have been continuously visiting houses and conducting surveys.

Despite all these, the abandoned Railway quarters have become hurdles for the SMC. Several wards of the city, including 20, 28, 32, 33, and 34, have Railway quarters.

Surendra Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Katihar Division of Northeast Frontier Railway, said: “It is true that garbage accumulates in those quarters during the monsoons. We will clean it. If required, we will do the work jointly with the SMC.

We will try to do the work at the earliest.”