‘Mumbai needs one dry day a week’

Indrani Malkani says awareness is what makes all the difference

An exhibition on ways to avoid mosquito breeding and prevent the spread of dengue and malaria was held by the BMC's D ward along with Advance Locality Management (ALM) of Little Gibbs Roads 1, 2 and 3, at The Cathedral and John Connon Infant School in Malabar Hill. The emphasis was on teaching locals that the most innocuous or routine practices at home can inadvertently lead to mosquito breeding.

Learning about the diseases in a creative way

BMC staffers at the exhibition said that they wanted to tell Mumbaikars: "Observe one dry day every week. This dry day is not the classic no liquor dry day. We are here to tell the city to empty out all receptacles and containers, even the smallest, completely at least once a week as larvae have a seven-day life cycle. Many people are unaware that larvae may be breeding in the house."

Eye-opener

The interesting part of the exhibition were the models and exhibits by the workers, one of which was a disposable aluminium foil container. "Many of us use these at home. Sometimes this is just lying around, but if there is water inside, it may be harmful. Larvae need miniscule water to breed," said an official, also pointing to a little paper cup, a coconut shell - items we use at home and discard without a thought - which may hold water for a while and then become a danger zone, facilitating disease. The accent was not on paranoia but simple, preventive measures.

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The civic authorities wanted to highlight that water collects not just in plant pots, but other receptacles too. There was also a model of a building with a water tank on the terrace. They indicated how the tank should be shut. They also informed that malaria is caused by the Anopheles mosquito that bites at night, while one is afflicted by dengue with the bite of the Aedes mosquito during the day.

Some of the exhibits on display

Workers stated, "There is a misconception that mosquitoes only breed in dirty water, but they actually breed in clean water. We see water collection and larvae breeding even in the popular bamboo Feng Shui plants that people keep on tables at home."

Access denied

There were also workers from the BMC's Malaria Surveillance Department, malaria inspectors and investigators, health workers who stated that they do combing operations in slum areas when many malaria cases are detected. "However, we often do not get access to highrises even if we want to investigate a sudden rise in cases. We are stopped at the security gate itself and not even allowed to put an awareness poster on the building notice board," said an official.

Indrani Malkani, founder-secretary of ALM of Little Gibbs Roads 1, 2 and 3, said, "Many upscale societies in the vicinity and elsewhere, too, do not seem to co-operate and allow the BMC staff to do their duty. Several buildings have a manager who can tell a security guard to accompany the health worker to the houses concerned. There is a tendency to tell the BMC that whatever the issue is, we will get it treated privately. Yet, the bigger picture is that where there is a communicable disease, it is the public authorities' onus to see that it does not spread; and that is why it is important that workers have access."

Exhibition officials said that they have these models and posters in their different ward offices where people can see them. "If we have somebody who can take up organisation and arrangement, like we did in conjunction with ma'am (Malkani), we can take this to other residential hubs too," they finished.