Massive cleaning up in Delhi to tackle dengue

NEW DELHI - A massive cleaning up campaign will be initiated in the capital from Monday as part of measures to control the spread of dengue, which has affected over 1,000 people in the city so far, as per a decision taken at a review meeting chaired by union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here Friday.

The two-hour review meeting was attended among others by Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia, Mayor Prithviraj Sahni, Municipal Corporation of Delhi Commissioner K.S. Mehra, Health Secretary Sujatha Rao and officials from major hospitals like AIIMS, Ram Manohar Lohia and Safdarjung Hospital.

“This meeting was for bringing coordination between all agencies, rather than they moving in different directions,” Azad told reporters.

Delhi has so far 1,155 dengue patients, with three deaths so far.

The minister claimed that though there has been an increase in the number of cases, the sub-type of dengue prevalent this year was not virulent. “Sub-type 1 is not virulent. So, there have only been a few deaths so far,” he said.

Seven decisions were agreed upon at the meeting, which include the decision to start a cleanliness campaign by the two civic agencies, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

“This will be a massive campaign… This will go towards cleaning of all the lanes and bylanes in Delhi,” he said, appealing to citizens of Delhi to allow officials into their premises.

Both civic agencies will also undertake spraying operations for killing of larva of the aedes aegypti, the carrier of dengue, in all stagnant pools of water.

Besides, MCD, NDMC, as well as the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) have been asked to inspect the roof water tanks of all multi-storey buildings and colonies, to ensure that they are covered with a lid.

“Construction agencies like CPWD and those involved with Metro projects and Commonwealth Games, have been asked to clean up their areas and sprinkle chemical in the water pools,” said Azad.

Government hospitals have also been asked to monitor the area around their premises, so that there are no breeding centres for mosquitoes.

Besides, MCD will set up a taskforce in each municipal ward in the city, under the local councillor, for undertaking dengue prevention and control measures. “There will also be an award for the best performing ward level task forces,” said the minister.

Also, he said the focus is on roping in the services of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) by providing them chemicals, like Temephos, for its use in their respective areas.