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BMC goes all out to curb dengue menace

Ask govt agencies and corporate offices to appoint mosquito control officer

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Worried about the fact that Dengue cases are outnumbering that of Malaria in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started taking precautionary measures on a war footing.

The civic authorities have asked all the government, semi-government agencies and corporate offices to appoint officers who will be able to detect mosquito breeding spots in their jurisdiction. The BMC is also planning to ask all the commercial and office buildings to ensure that there are no breeding spots in their precincts as dengue mosquitoes are 'day biters'.

Last week, municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte had held a meeting to take stock of the pre-monsoon situation in the city. In the meeting, where representatives from all the stakeholder agencies were present, Kunte had expressed his concern over the rising number of dengue cases.

"If all the government and semi-government agencies decide to combat the mosquito menace, the city can get rid of malaria and dengue. We have carried out rigorous anti-mosquito drives and have scanned more than 24,009 water tanks in the premises of governmental organisations. More than 2,895 water tanks are found to be non-mosquito proof," said a senior civic official present at the meeting.

The measures set by the national malaria control programme did not prove successful since dengue mosquitoes are active during the day time. "Each of the government agencies will have to appoint an officer to control mosquito-breeding. He will be trained by BMC's insecticide department on how to identify dengue mosquitoes and their breeding spots. Also, this officer will know how to deal with the breeding spots and if necessary, how to take municipal help. He will also be responsible for ensuring that there are no mosquito-breeding spots in the premises," the official added.

Last year, the civic body sought the help of citizen activists and members of Advance Locality Management (ALM) to fight the mosquito menace. Even this year, the same module will be replicated. "However, in case of corporate buildings and offices, we will have to contact them and ask them to appoint an officer to control mosquito-breeding. This will reduce our burden and the issue could be addressed in time," said the official.

In numbers
Number of agencies visited - 70
Total tanks scanned – 24,009
Total non-mosquito proof tanks – 2, 895
Prominent agencies: PWD - 710 tanks; Central Rly – 359; RCF – 267; Mhada – 160; CPWD - 137; Western Rly - 133; Mumbai Port Trust – 113; Seepz – 67; Air Force – 90; Army – 88; BSNL - 57; Postal - 35
 

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