Maharashtra govt assures malaria control in 8 days

With incidents of malaria on a rise in the metropolis, Maharashtra health minister Suresh Shetty said the menace would be brought under control within eight days.

"We have taken all possible measures to control malaria and results would be seen within eight days," Shetty told reporters in Mumbai today.

Considering the rise in the number of patients in public hospitals, the minister has asked private hospitals to start treatment immediately after a patient is diagnosed with malaria.

Even private practitioners have been permitted to distribute free medicines provided by the government, he added.

The BMC is regularly conducting fogging in Worli, Parel, Kurla, Byculla, Andheri, Jogeshwari and Dadar, the areas where the disease is most rampant, Shetty said.

The government is also following guidelines laid down by a team of the Centre which visited the city last week, he said.

The team had recommended the civic body to do intensive monitoring of construction sites. Also, people staying near construction sites should regularly use mosquito nets, the team had suggested.