With dengue cases on the rise across Delhi, Satya Sharma — the chairperson of the Municipal Corporation's Standing Committee — has directed the civic body's public health department to intensify vector-control efforts and maintain adequate stocks of insecticides and medicines.
With large gatherings expected at temples and Ramlila grounds, the municipal body has been directed to run fogging operations across those locations on a regular basis, while also stepping up larval control and sanitation work in areas identified as vulnerable.
Figures released by the MCD's vector-borne disease monitoring unit place Delhi's cumulative dengue tally at 695 for the year to date, with the fortnight spanning the weeks that closed on 3 October and 10 October contributing 98 and 104 new cases respectively. September's tally of 286 cases for the city edged above the 260 logged in the equivalent month a year prior, with the following October having posted 377 cases in that same prior year.
At a 9 October review with public health department officials, Sharma called on multi-tasking staff and domestic breeding checker employees to carry out house-to-house surveys for mosquito-breeding sites on a routine basis, adding that lapses in inspection work would face consequences and that broader community education on preventive measures remained a priority.
Up to 12 October this year, 294 malaria infections had been logged across the city — 28 of them in the single week just prior — marking a reduction against the 494 cases tallied through the same stretch twelve months earlier.
Across the current calendar period, MCD teams carried out mosquito-breeding inspections at roughly 3.3 crore properties — up from the 3.1 crore locations covered during the previous year's equivalent effort. Mosquito breeding was detected at roughly 1.9 lakh locations out of those inspected, a count that came in below the approximately 2.1 lakh sites where breeding had been recorded the year before.
Sharma instructed staff to deploy fogging operations and anti-larval treatments across areas identified as at risk or already affected, adding that heightened sanitation efforts should be concentrated around religious sites and Ramlila grounds, where visitor numbers tend to rise during the festive period.
Supplies of insecticides, medicines, and other necessities were assessed by the chairperson, who instructed officials to maintain uninterrupted stock levels, adding that scheduled inspections, fogging operations carried out on time, sufficient materials, and inter-departmental coordination all play a part in keeping dengue and other mosquito-borne illnesses in check. Sharma said that addressing the problem requires field personnel to apply insecticides and put protective protocols in place without delay.
At the review meeting, Sharma pressed officials to provide details on both the progress achieved and any steps taken in the matter.
