Mayor: Dengue cases in KMC area witnessed a dip

Kolkata: Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Firhad Hakim said the number of dengue cases in the city has witnessed a reduction but the situation is still worrying.

Hakim told the reporters on Friday that the number of dengue cases has witnessed a drop and that KMC has ramped up its efforts to contain further spread. Presently, the number of cases is 4779. There has been a nominal percentage decrease but KMC is not letting its guard down, said the Mayor.

The Mayor is also scheduled to visit the Jadavpur area on Saturday on a dengue inspection, he informed. The deputy mayor and Member Mayor-in-Council (MMiC) health, Atin Ghosh had recently conducted an anti-dengue drive in Jadavpur area where drones were flown to spray larvicide at a glass factory. He also expressed disappointment after visiting the Bijoygarh State General Hospital and had ordered hospital authorities to clean up the premises.

Meanwhile, the KMC vector control team recently inspected a godown at Canal East Road in Ward 14. The team was led by OSD and ex-officio chief, VCO, Debashish Biswas. Several scrap items were found on the premises. Drums were spotted where water had accumulated.

The civic body will be making arrangements to ensure mosquito breeding does not take place there, said sources.

KMC also decided that two health institutions, Islamia Hospital and Kidderpore Maternity Home would be converted into dengue fever clinics. The Kidderpore maternity has about 40 beds which will be augmented to 100. The Islamia Hospital which has 200 beds will be augmented to 300. Further, it was learnt that KMC would also seek permission from the state health department to direct state government hospitals to inform them of the number of vacant beds available there. The civic body may soon introduce a dengue helpline number.