NEW DELHI, May 8:
Much ahead of the dengue season, mosquitoes have been found breeding in over 200 prominent buildings in Delhi’s VIP zone including those housing the offices of the Environment and Telecommunication ministries and AIIMS following which the civic body has served notices to them.
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has formed a surveillance team which is inspecting all buildings since last month as with onset of summer begins the season conducive for mosquito breeding.
Lady Hardinge Hospital, AIIMS, RML Hospital, Paryavaran Bhawan, Meghdoot Bhawan, Sanchar Bhawan, Baroda House, Kashmir House, Red Cross Society, Shivaji Stadium and Delhi High Court have been served notices by the NDMC after vector-carrying mosquitoes were found breeding in their premises. A challan has also been issued to the All India Radio.
“Our inspection team has already started field visits and surveillance work. A total of 225 notices have been issued so far in the ongoing first phase. The team is reviewing the mosquitogenic conditions and offices are being asked to take preventive measures,” NDMC’s Chief Medical Officer R N Singh said.
“We have also started various training programmes for spreading awareness about the disease. In the first phase, sanitation workers have been given training, while in the next phases NDMC school teachers and executive engineers will be trained,” he said.
Last year, NDMC had issued over 125 notices to the President’s Estate after “heavy” mosquito-breeding was found at various places on its sprawling campus. However, the officials say the situation has improved this year.
“After repeated notices were sent to Rashtrapati Bhawan, a four-member team was formed to work closely for taking precautionary and control measures, and the situation has largely improved. No breeding has been detected so far,” Singh said.
The civic body is also planning to approach embassies and foreign missions with request to provide access to its staff for inspecting their premises.
The precautionary measure has been taken as the civic body had last year found heavy breeding of mosquitoes in at least 12 embassies including those of Ghana, Singapore, Malaysia, Ethiopia and the Czech Republic.
As foreign diplomatic missions are not bound by law to allow the officials to check breeding, NDMC does not have any authority to issue any challan or notice to them. It can only help them with remedial measures.
Last year, with over 15,500 cases till mid-November, the dengue outbreak was reported to be worst in the city since 1996 when 10,252 cases and 423 deaths were reported.
According to a municipal report, at least seven cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital this year, with five of them in the first 10 days of April.
The council staff inspects all buildings in NDMC areas every year to check mosquito-breeding. Notices are issued in the first phase and the defaulters are asked to reply within a week’s time about the measures taken by them. However, if in the second phase breeding is still found in their premises, NDMC issues challans to such violators. (PTI)
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