Civic bodies release report; blame rise in numbers on delay in notification of new zone boundaries
Around 251 cases of dengue, 174 cases of chikungunya and 193 cases of malaria have been reported in Delhi so far this year, according to a combined report released by the municipalities on Monday.
Out of the 251 cases of dengue, 68 were reported in the last week, similarly 25 cases of chikungunya and 22 cases of malaria were also reported in the last week.
The season for vector-borne diseases generally kicks in by mid-July — stagnant water provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes — and lasts till November-end. This year, however, cases of vector-borne diseases were reported much earlier, which doctors had attributed to early arrival of monsoon.
Another reason for the spike has been the laxity shown by the municipalities in inspection and fogging activities. The civic agencies claim that work was mainly affected as new boundaries of zones were not cleared by the Delhi government.
With the delimitation file of the south and the east corporations being notified last week, awareness programmes have finally been stepped up, the agencies said.
‘Need concerted effort’
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, however, said that fogging activities in several areas is yet to start.
Senior leaders said that though the government had ensured extra beds and additional supply of medicines in hospitals, the only way to avoid an outbreak is through prevention.
“Many of our MLAs have brought to our notice that checking and prevention activities in their areas are not up to the mark. In areas under our control, we are trying our best to give the best facilities to patients. But results will only show if the BJP-led municipalities also perform the function for which they were elected,” said AAP senior leader and spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Officials also claimed that the Delhi government had started its awareness campaign early.
“The programmes were launched in March, awareness is important as the mosquitoes that spread dengue and chikungunya breed inside homes in clean water and it is impossible to tackle the menace without the help of the people,” said a Delhi government official.
Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal has been conducting regular meetings with health officials from the government and civic bodies to assess breeding-control measures and preparedness of hospitals.
Like every year, the government has allowed private hospitals and nursing homes to increase their bed strength by 10%-20% to accommodate an influx of fever patients.
