Dum Dum - Barrackpore stretch: Hakim blames abandoned factories for spurt in dengue cases
Kolkata: With several cases of dengue in areas between Dum Dum Municipality and Barrackpore, minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs (UDMA) department, Firhad Hakim said that the abandoned factories in that belt have become a hurdle for the civic bodies which are not getting access to these factory premises for cleaning.
Addressing the media, Hakim on Saturday said that the entire stretch between Dum Dum Municipality and Barrackpore is dotted with abandoned factories.
He said that conservancy workers of the municipal bodies are not being able to access these premises
for cleaning.
He said the fate of these factories are unknown as they are stuck at different levels in terms of litigation.
“Many of these factories are on the verge of liquidation. They have been lying abandoned for the past 20 years or more,” he remarked.
The minister said that the state government is helpless in such matters and hence it would be unfair to put the entire blame on the government for the number of dengue cases in that area. “It is due to these factories that every year dengue cases remain high here from monsoon to winter,” he remarked.
Commenting on wastes being dumped in water bodies in the city, he said that public awareness is important in such situations. Hakim, who is also the Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, said that the civic body can clean up the area once but locals need to ensure that it does not turn into a dumping ground.
When pointed out that vacant lands are also turning into dumping grounds, creating a breeding ground of mosquitoes, Hakim said that prices of land in the city are now sky-high and hence instead of developing on them people are waiting for the prices to increase so they can sell it.
“We cannot ask people what to do with their land but the owners need to ensure that it does not become a
dumping site. In such cases, we will serve notices to them and if necessary, impose hefty fines,” he said.
