NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday wrote to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, urging him to pledge his support to the ‘Dengue-Free Delhi’ campaign.
Through his letter, the chief minister also extended an invitation to all Union ministers to join his government’s campaign against mosquito breeding and vector-borne diseases.
Stressing on the need for public participation to make the city’s fight against dengue a success, Kejriwal sought to direct Vardhan’s attention to his government’s initiative to ramp mass awareness on vector-borne diseases and advise residents to keep their homes and surroundings free from mosquito-breeding spots.
“In this regard, Delhi government has launched a campaign from 1st September, in which the entire city residents have been appealed to spend 10 minutes at 10 AM every Sunday for the next 10 Sundays in checking their homes and around to ensure there is no clean stagnant water anywhere where the Aedes Mosquitoes can breed,” read the letter written by the chief minister.
Kejriwal, as well as his cabinet colleagues, MLAs and party members, have been visiting households in their respective constituencies, asking residents to check for stagnant water, which has been flagged by health experts as the single biggest reason for mosquito breeding in housing spaces. The CM had launched the campaign from his residence.
“We will continue this campaign for the next 10 Sundays, till 15th November, since prevention of any kind of mosquito breeding is the most effective way to curb the spread of Dengue and Chikungunya. I invite you and all Central government ministers to participate in this campaign. Your participation will inspire many others to participate,” Kejriwal wrote.
Addressing an event to mark Rashtriya Shamavani Parv on the lawns of the Delhi Assembly on Monday, the CM said, “I seek forgiveness of those who I hurt knowingly or unknowingly through my statements or actions.”