MUMBAI: A day after serving notice to Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor over mosquito-breeding spots at his residential premises, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will file a case against him for not abiding by its rules.
The BMC’s insecticide team found breeding spots of aedes aegypti mosquito (which can spread dengue, chikungunya among other illnesses) in the actor’s private swimming pool at his residence in Juhu Tara Road area.
BMC’s Executive Health officer Padmaja Keskar said “I have asked the legal department to file a court case against the actor for his negligence. The case would be filed in a day or two.”
The civic body yesterday served a notice to Shahid Kapoor under Section 381-B of Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, seeking his explanation.
“We are not going to wait for the actor’s response to our notice. We are moving ahead for action (such as collection of fine) against him and would file a court case,” she said.
Keskar said not only the filmstar, court cases are also being filed against all those whose premises were found housing mosquito-breeding spots.
The civic body, since January 1 this year, has filed 927 cases in different courts against offenders and realised fine amounting to Rs 26.92 lakh.
In 2015, the corporation had filed 2,299 court cases against offenders and collected Rs 32.77 lakh in fine.
Last year, the BMC had served notices to Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla and singer Amit Kishore Ganguli for not taking steps to prevent mosquito-breeding in their residential premises.
After the BMC’s action yesterday, Shahid expressed concern over mosquito-breeding at his premises and thanked the civic body for conducting the inspection.
Intermittent showers have left pools of stagnant water in several areas of the city, providing a fertile ground for proliferation of disease-spreading mosquitoes. This, coupled with a rise in temperature, has led to increase in the cases of dengue fever in the metropolis.
According to BMC Health Department, 122 patients of dengue were being treated at various hospitals. Besides, over 1,500 people have been admitted to various hospitals for suspected dengue this month alone.
Keskar appealed to the citizens to identify and destroy mosquito-breeding spots at their residence and housing societies. (AGENCIES)