KMC set to organise dengue awareness rally on Feb 15

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is set to organise a rally on February 15 to create awareness against dengue.

The rally will start from the KMC headquarters on SN Banerjee Road and will march through a stretch on Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Lenin Sarani, Raja Subodh Millick Square, Nirmal Chandra Street, College Street and end at College Square.

Mayor Firhad Hakim will lead the rally. Actors, artistes, painters, players along with common people will take part in the rally as well. There will be colourful festoons, posters and KMC will distribute pamphlets containing the dos and don'ts to combat the spread of Dengue.

Earlier on February 8, 144 rallies will be taken out in each ward by the local councillors. The rallies will march through the important roads of the respective wards.

The KMC is now working on the vulnerable wards that had been hit by Dengue in 2019. In 2018, the KMC had identified 20 wards and intensive anti larvae drives had been conducted there. The KMC has set up 144 blood collection centres, one in each ward and 16 laboratories to detect Dengue.

Because of intense drives conducted by the civic bodies, there had not been any Dengue death in areas under KMC jurisdiction.

The health department of KMC is now working on the action plan for 2020. Stress will be laid on the campaign. KMC gives away prizes to the Durga puja committees who take an active part in creating awareness against Dengue.

Senior civic officials said the house to house drive to kill the mosquito larvae had been found to be very effective.

The civic workers visit the individual houses, housing complexes, government offices, nursing homes, hospitals and educational institutions and notices are served if the overhead tanks and underground reservoirs are found to be uncovered and garbage is found to be in the premises.