NEW DELHI: For the first time, an inter-state meeting between the Haryana administration and Municipal Corporation of Delhi will happen to deliberate on the coordinated effort for the prevention and control of dengue and other vector-borne diseases in the areas that share a border between both the states, officials said. The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, will discuss the dispute related to the anti-dengue drive in border localities and the management of patients.
According to officials, the Narela zone of MCD shares a border with Sonipat and Jhajjar districts of Haryana. The fogging and other preventive drives carried out in MCD-governed areas are also demanded by the locals of Haryana district. The refusal by authorities has led to many clashes.
“The Delhi-Haryana border area has been identified as a high-risk area due to a lack of successful coordinated planned activities in this area. Further, there is no clear-cut border at many places. Therefore, when a malaria control team is doing preventing exercises like fogging etc. in their region, then residents of Haryana also often demand the same activities in their region. It creates confusion, which sometimes leads to fight between residents and staff,” said Anjali Sehrawat, Deputy Commissioner, Narela zone (MCD).
Furthermore, frequent complaints are lodged in the control room of MCD by residents of the Haryana border area for fogging and focal spray. “Therefore, coordination among various departments, particularly the public health department of Sonipat area and the public health department of Narela, is essential to control outbreaks of vector-borne diseases,” she said.
Another agenda of the meeting is to coordinate with the positive cases of dengue and other vector-borne infections, which are treated in Delhi, but have residence in Haryana. “It leads to a situation where the control measures in the affected locality of the patient can’t be done by the MCD. However, if it remains unchecked, it will create an outbreak,” said Dr Ajay Handa, Deputy Health Officer, MCD.