High-rises more vulnerable than slums in transmission of dengue: Survey

Kolkata: A recent survey conducted by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has revealed that the multi-storeyed buildings are more vulnerable than the slums in the transmission of dengue.

The civic authorities have taken a series of steps to eradicate malaria and prevent the spread of dengue.

It may be recalled that on August 20 is celebrated globally as The World Mosquito Day when in 1897 Sir Ronald Ross discovered that female Anopheles mosquitoes are responsible for Malaria for which got the Nobel P rize in 1902.

The KMC teams had visited the roofs of 16,553 high rises in ward 108 between August 3 and 8 as a part of the drive to eradicate malaria and dengue. They found Aedes Aegypti larvae in 667 containers which were kept on the roof top.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation teams had conducted survey at the Gokhana slum in ward 11 in north Kolkata on August 3 and Chelta Lockgate slum in ward 82 on August 7.

The team visited 477 households at Gokhana slum where the number of water containers checked was 1,710. Aedes Aegypti larvae were found in five containers only.

Similarly, at Lockgate slum, 3,600 containers were checked and dengue bearing larvae were found in 55 containers.

Debashis Biswas, chief vector control officer said the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's request to clear the roof top had fallen flat among some residents of highrise buildings. They are keeping empty containers on the roof top.

The residents are not examining whether the rainwater pipes got clogged or not as a result, there is accumulation of rain water on the roof and this is serving as a mosquito breeding ground. They have also refused to clear the water containers once in a week.

Moreover, in many cases they have refused to cooperate with the KMC teams to examine the roof top.

On the contrary, the residents of the slums had cooperated with the civic staffs and if was seen that they were cleaning the water containers once in a week.

There are around 3,000 odd slums in Kolkata and if the slum dwellers become conscious, then the chance

of spreading dengue will go down.