Mosquito menace on rise, but half the posts in civic bodies lie vacant

Though the monsoon will bring in the onset of the mosquito menace, Delhi's civic bodies are clearly not prepared. Sources in the public health department say that they do not have enough manpower to keep a check on the rising cases of vector-borne diseases.

Over 55 per cent of the posts including malaria officers, malaria inspectors, field workers and domestic breeding checkers (DBCs) have been lying vacant for the past two years. In other words, out of the total 755 sanctioned posts of medical officers and malaria inspectors in the North and East civic bodies, 531 have been lying vacant.

The North Corporation has 376 of the 528 posts vacant while East Corporation has 155 of the 227 posts unfilled.

The North Corporation raised the issue of being short-staffed in its meeting last week. It said that with the limited number of workers, inspection of all areas under its jurisdiction was not possible.

Of the 1,500 sanctioned posts of DBCs, who are responsible for inspecting each household, commercial units, office complexes, and buildings, the North Corporation has 1,440 filled while the East Corporation has 675 of the total 710 posts filled. However, officers say that many of the DBC posts are on contract and they need permanent staff to fill these posts.

"There has been no response from the Delhi Government so far on this issue. With less staff, it is a challenge to have ground inspections of every area which increases the possibility of breeding going unchecked. This raises major concerns for public health," said a senior officer from the North Corporation.

Massive outbreak of vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikunguniya has taken a toll on public health over the past two years.

Till June 12 this year, 98 cases of chikunguniya and 45 cases of dengue have been reported from the city. Last year chikunguniya had reached epidemic proportions with 7,760 cases being reported while 4,413 dengue cases were reported. In 2015, the city witnessed a massive outbreak of dengue with around 15,867 cases being reported.

Analysis

The shortage of staff in the civic bodies has been a long-pending issue since the MCD Act was amended and its functioning was brought under the Delhi government. The lack of public health staff on ground can translate into increased mosquito breeding, as many areas can go unchecked. The government must take serious note of filling up these posts in order to address the larger issue of public health.