CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed all municipal corporations, municipalities, panchayats and the health department to conduct a comprehensive survey to identify hotspots of water stagnation and mosquito breeding, and take immediate remedial measures.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan passed the order recently on a petition filed by G Vijayaraja of Chennai, seeking action to address the persistent mosquito menace in the city.
The bench directed the authorities to complete the exercise within four weeks. It also ordered the respondent authorities to carry out regular cleaning of drains, desilting of sewers and fogging operations in high-risk areas.
Further, the bench directed the government to establish a dedicated grievance redressal mechanism, including a helpline number, within a month to enable citizens to report water stagnation and related complaints. The bench also asked the health department to launch a media awareness campaign on the need to prevent vector-borne diseases.