BMC ropes in elderly to fight monsoon malady

A group of about 100 conscientious senior citizens will assist the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in monsoon preparedness this year. They will be trained by BMC hospital doctors on monsoon-related illnesses so as to enable them to spread awareness among fellow Mumbaikars in their respective areas.

The group will be trained on what needs to be done in case of waterlogging, how to detect mosquito-breeding sites and how to deal with diseases such as malaria and dengue.

Dr SJ Nagda, director of major civic hospitals in BMC, said: "We will be holding training sessions for senior citizens in the next 10 days. The trainings will be conducted by doctors from BYL Nair hospital-Byculla, KEM Hospital-Parel and LTMG Sion Hospital."

The ward-level awareness campaign is being conducted through meetings at housing societies as well as corporate offices.

With monsoon round the corner, the BMC has started preparing itself for monsoon-related illnesses. "We have sent circulars to our hospitals and doctors to prepare themselves to deal with monsoon-related illness. We are holding training for our doctors and medical staff on the same. There will be extra beds and out-patients' departments (OPDs) for monsoon-related illness," said Dr Nagda.

The city has been witnessing cases of malaria even before the monsoon and, therefore, it will be crucial for the corporation to ensure that there is no outbreak of malaria and dengue this year. Since January, there have been 1,622 cases of malaria with three deaths. In April only, there were 22 cases. Yet, doctors say that these are sporadic instances and nothing to be worried about.