Rising Dengue cases: MCD short of hands, machines

Civic agency ill-prepared to handle tourist influx during CWG

Civic agency ill-prepared to handle tourist influx during CWG

Its not just corruption and shoddy work that is bringing a bad name to the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. It's now being blamed for the spread of dengue as well by none other than the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

But the civic agency itself has done little to contain the spread of vector-borne diseases in the national capital.
The MCD has been maintaining 12 fogging machines and 3,500 breeding checkers for the past three years.

The maximum risk of vector- borne diseases is between April and November. Unlikeu00a0 past years, the MCD started fogging two months late, in June this year. The national capital is expecting thousands of foreign tourists in the wake of the upcoming Commonwealth Games in October. The tourists have been informed to watch out for potential health hazards but the arrangements made by the MCD seem to be insufficient.
The health committee chairman of the MCD, V K Monga, said: "We are going to get two more fogging machines in a day or two."

However, when asked why the MCD did not increase the number of equipments, Dr N K Yadav, medical health officer, MCD, said: "Fogging machines and checking the breeding at various places is not the solution for controlling dengue."

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said the ongoing construction work for the Games is responsible for the spread of dengue. Now the MCD officials are blaming the contractors for incomplete work near the Games Village for the growing menace.

"The contractors are responsible for the unfinished construction work which is providing breeding ground for mosquitoes," said Yadav. When asked why they did not raise the number of staff, Yadav said, "We don't have enough money to hire new staff."u00a0

Dengue update
Dengue cases continue to rise in the city as 34 new cases were reported on Monday taking the count of those affected by the disease to 453. "Thirty-four people tested positive for dengue fever today (Monday). With this, the total number of people to have tested positive for dengue since June has risen to 453," N K Yadav, MCD's medical health officer, said. After a spurt in dengue cases was reported in Jamia Nagar, Yadav said, the MCD has appointed 500 extra labourers for spraying infecticide there. He also said the number of hand-operated fogging machines has been doubled; most of these are to be used in the Commonwealth Games Village to curb the dengue menace.