As monsoon hits Delhi, MCDs battle dengue, malaria and chikungunya

new delhi: As experts have already warned about the deadly combination of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic along with a surge in vector-borne diseases, data from municipal corporations in Delhi show that the city has recorded 73 cases of Dengue, Malaria and Chikungunya in this year so far. Of these, 38 are of Malaria, 22 are of Dengue, and the remaining 13 are Chikungunya

cases.

However, civic body officials are quite optimistic about the current count. They believe the situation is under control as the count is 30 per cent less than the previous year. In 2019, the city had recorded 107 cases of Dengue, Malaria, and Chikungunya in the same period. "We have the situation under control and fully prepared to deal with it in the coming days," said Ira Singhal, Additional Municipal Commissioner of North Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Singhal also said that municipal corporation staff members are carrying out various activities to contain the outbreak of these vector-borne diseases. "Domestic breeding checking, fogging, anti-larval spray, and sanitization of wet spots are being done to check mosquitoes' breeding. Besides, we are also doing awareness programs to sensitise the residents," she said.

Recently, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation had found that over 75 buildings in its areas were prone to mosquito breeding and had issued notices to them.

Singhal added that the MCDs are carrying inspection drives and penalizing the persons or the establishments where breeding spots for mosquitoes are found. As per the data, the corporations have served 11,942 legal notices and launched 106 prosecutions against violators.

However, the RWAs have contradicted the claims by the MCD officials. B.S. Vohra, president of East Delhi RWA joint front who lives in Krishna Nagar, feared that only 25 per cent of the work is done against the claims touted by the MCD officials.

Experts said that the peak season for malaria starts from May, and a spike is seen after the monsoon in July and August. Dr Pankaj Solanki, a member of Delhi Medical Council, said that the outbreak of Malaria and Dengue is around

the corner.

"The authorities are busty in dealing with the Covid-19. As it is the season of vector-borne diseases, much focus is stressed upon it," Dr Solanki said while adding that the situation could worsen if Covid-19 gets mixed with the outbreak of vector-borne diseases.

"The drop in blood platelets will be fatal for the patients already suffering from the Covid-19 infection," Dr Solanki added.