Hakim approves anti-dengue drives by KMC
Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will carry out anti-dengue drives in the city throughout the year in phases.
Mayor Firhad Hakim approved the plan at a high-level meeting held in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) headquarters on Monday afternoon.
Deputy Mayor Atin Ghosh, Municipal Commissioner Khalil Ahmed, Special Municipal Commissioner Tapas Chowdhury and Director General (Civil) P K Dua attended the meeting.
The executive health officers and deputy chief municipal health officers of all boroughs also attended the meeting, along with senior officials of KMC's Law department.
The first phase of the drive will begin in January and continue till June. KMC has identified 18 vulnerable wards including wards 6, 36, 14 and 82, among others.
Ghosh said drives will be conducted from February 15 in the areas where people had been afflicted with dengue in 2018. In many such drives, Ghosh himself will be present.
The second phase of the drive will start from July to October and it will be need-based, whereas in November and December there will be follow-up action on the drives that will be carried out throughout the year.
It may be mentioned that KMC has successfully brought down the number of dengue cases to one-third of the original, because of sustained drives throughout the year. Most of these drives were headed by Ghosh.
He said 144 rallies will be held in all the wards of KMC to create awareness against dengue on February 2. The central rally will be held from KMC headquarters and Mayor Hakim will lead the rally.
Representatives of various NGOs, school children and people from all walks of life will take part in the procession that will march through Lenin Sarani, Wellington Square
and S N Banerjee Road and will terminate at KMC headquarters.
Ghosh has urged people to join the rally, as in order to combat the menace of dengue, a close cooperation between the KMC and people is required.
It may be mentioned that KMC has set up 15 dengue detection centres in the city, where blood samples are examined free of cost.
