LG directs govt departments, MCDs to work together

A day after the Apex Court asked the Delhi government to stop blame game over the outbreak of vector-borne diseases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleague Satyendra Jain met Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung and agreed to fight chikungunya and dengue “together”. The meeting between Jung and Kejriwal came after four months.

Jung has directed all Delhi government departments and the three municipal corporations to work in tandem to tackle dengue and chikungunya.

“The LG insisted that all concerned must continue to put in their best efforts to fight dengue and chikungunya, especially after the recent rains. He insisted on making the public awareness campaign more robust since breeding of mosquitoes has still not abated,” a statement issued by the LG’s office stated.

In the meeting, Health Minister Jain explained the government’s stance to the LG, who directed the departments concerned to intensify the fight against vector-borne diseases, especially after the recent rains.

He directed the Delhi Health Secretary to hold the weekly review meeting.

“We reviewed preparedness relating to dengue and chikungunya. The number of cases of these diseases have come down significantly. In the meeting, all have agreed to fight against chikungunya and dengue together,” Jain said, after the meeting at LG Secretariat.

Jain informed Jung that Delhi hospitals were well-equipped to handle fever cases and at present 355 government-run fever clinics were functioning, including on Sundays.

He said the number of patients suffering from vector-borne diseases had come down in hospitals.

Meanwhile, the LG office said the commissioners  of the three MCDs informed that they had drawn a roster for field visits by deputy commissioners.

The commissioners of the East, North and South Municipal Corporations apprised Jung that garbage dumps in all municipal wards were cleaned twice every day. The LG had last week directed for cleaning of dumps twice a day. 

Jung had asked the Northern Railway authorities to increase the frequency of ‘mosquito terminator’ trains as people living along the tracks were particularly vulnerable.

“The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials were asked to ensure no stagnant water at construction sites near Metro stations and adequate fumigation to check mosquito breeding,” the statement issued by the LG’s office added.

Till October more than 1.2 lakh dengue and 5,293 chikungunya cases have been reported in Delhi. So far, dengue has claimed 21 lives, while chikungunya 15 in the Capital.