A drive to contain the dengue outbreak by checking the mosquito menace was inaugurated by actor Suresh Gopi at Chirakkulam colony in the city on Sunday. Health Minister V S Sivakumar, Mayor K Chandrika, Health Standing Committee chairperson S Pushpalatha and health officers were present on the occasion.
Inaugurating the drive, Suresh Gopi said that instead of fearing rain, each citizen should be aware of making their premises free from bacteria and viruses. He added that due importance has to be given for waste disposal as well as minimising waste generation.
“At homes, only enough quantity of food should be prepared, so that wastage of food can be limited. Likewise, food wastage ought to be curbed during festive occasions,” he said. He added that stringent action should be taken against people who throw garbage on roads so that they don’t repeat it again.
Sivakumar said that there should be awareness among people against the spread of dengue fever and the proliferation of Aedes mosquitoes. Mayor Chandrika called for vigilant action from the part of the people to eradicate and prevent the proliferation of mosquitoes owing to water-logging.
An anti-dengue drive at the state-level will be launched on November 11 as a joint initiative of the Health Department and the Corporation.
In the city, the drive started at 8 am on Sunday. Under the aegis of Suchitwa Mission, street plays on dengue fever awareness were staged at Peroorkada, Ulloor, Pettah, Uppalam Road and Karamana.
At nearly 25 centres, the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) conducted micro classes, distributed pamphlets, visited homes and conducted campaigns spreading awareness messages. This drive was flagged off at 9.30 am from General Hospital in the city.
Activities
As per the anti-dengue drive, dry days will observed on Sundays and Thursdays. For homes, three consecutive Sundays will be observed as dry days and for offices and institutions, the dry days will fall on three Thursdays.
A 5,000-member squad is being deployed for conducting campaigns in the 100 wards of the Corporation. The wards would be divided into 25 zones and 50 squads will be deployed in each ward. Surveys, awareness campaigns and eradication of mosquitoes at source will be part of the campaign.
Junior health inspectors, junior public health nurses, Kudumbashree workers, ASHA volunteers, Anganwadi workers, representatives of residents’ associations and other volunteers will be part of the squads. DMO, DPM and Corporation health officer would be in charge of overseeing the functioning of the squads.
On Monday, the Health Minister is convening a review meeting for evaluating the activities of the dengue prevention drive held from November 1 onwards. The Mayor and district panchayat president will be present at the meeting.