Kejriwal says Capital nearly winning the battle against dengue
The chief minister’s assertion comes amid a surge in dengue cases in the last two weeks, and the first death due to it was reported on Monday
Amid a surge in dengue cases in the city, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday declared that the national capital was “close to winning the battle” against the vector borne disease, as he urged residents to take part in the Delhi government’s “10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10 Minute” campaign to combat the infection.
“Delhi is now very close to winning the battle against dengue. Like previous weeks, this Sunday too, at 10 am, let us all spend 10 minutes, inspecting our homes and surrounding areas, for any sign of stagnant water. If you do find such water, drain it, replace it or cover with a small layer of oil. Together, let us all make Delhi dengue-free,” said a statement issued by the chief minister’s office which quoted him.
The chief minister’s assertion comes amid a surge in dengue cases in the last two weeks, and the first death due to it was reported on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led municipal corporations in Delhi for not preparing in a timely manner to control vector-borne diseases in the city.
Addressing a press conference, AAP senior leader and Kalkaji MLA Atishi said the MCDs did not maintain adequate stocks of medicines to treat such diseases or arrange enough staff for the same.
“There are 70% vacancies in the anti-malaria department of the MCD. Almost no fogging is taking place and MCDs’ performance in carrying out door-to-door checks or medicine administration is majorly lacking. In the last two days, shocking facts have been revealed concerning the North MCD. North MCD lacks the staff and also do not even possess the medicines and chemicals required to carry out the steps to counter dengue-malaria,” Atishi said.
On October 23, HT, citing a status report from the North MCD, reported that the civic body is running abysmally low on larvicide and insecticides needed to control vector populations.
The Delhi BJP said that due to the hard work and cooperation of municipal domestic breeding checkers and fogging staff, dengue and malaria spread is well under control.
“The truth is that all zonal offices of North MCD have 2-3 weeks of fogging and sprinkling medicines stock and hospitals including Hindu Rao have proper stock of medicines. Around 2,900 DBC workers are working hard to check and control mosquito breeding. AAP’s Atishi is repeatedly trying to put fear in the minds of people by spreading wrong information through her politically biased statements,” said Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor.
“If Atishi still feels that MCDs are lacking in preparation, then she should ask CM Arvind Kejriwal to provide additional medicines stock to MCDs instead of splashing public money on his photo hoardings,” the BJP said.