NEW DELHI: With the onset of the monsoon, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has claimed that it is fully prepared to eliminate mosquito breeding and deal with the rise in vector-borne diseases.
For this, the MCD officials have been sending Domestic Breeding Checkers (DBCs) to every household in the city. “The first round of the visit is underway and is expected to be completed by June 30. We have collaborated with around 18,000 Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) of the city who helped us arrange the visits,” said a MCD official.
More than 3,000 DBCs have been deployed under the programme. He added that the DBCs while inspecting the houses make sure that there is no breeding ground such as water coolers, plants and stagnated water in the house where mosquitoes can breed. “The DBCs are also distributing handbills to spread awareness about the risk involved with storing stagnant water,” said the official.
The official added that the corporation is also making announcements on loudspeakers to spread awareness among people. The official added that people are being fined if seen flouting the norms. “Around 7,000 people have been issued challan for not following the standard protocols to ensure no breeding takes place,” the official added.
Vector borne diseases such as dengue and malaria are on the rise in the city. However, no fatality has been reported so far this year. According to a civic report released on Monday, a total of 133 dengue cases were reported in Delhi till June 20, this year. Delhi recorded 23 cases in January, 16 in February, 22 in March, 20 in April, and 30 in May. Eight cases of Chikungunya and 22 Malaria cases were reported. In the last one week, the national capital reported seven cases of Dengue out of which 5 remained untraced. Only one case of Malaria and zero case of Chikungunya were reported.