THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the rise in Zika viral infection reported in the capital, the corporation on Sunday began the one- week cleaning and mass fogging drive. Mayor Arya Rajendran inaugurated the campaign at the corporation office. Sanitation campaign began at other sub-offices of the corporation, houses, government and private offices of all the 100 wards under the supervision of councillors. This campaign was kicked off along with the ‘Dry Day Challenge’ programme to clean the premises of houses in the corporation on Sundays.
Speaking to reporters, Arya sought the cooperation of citizens so as to ensure the complete eradication of contagious diseases in the city. “One week campaign is one of the solutions to eradicate communicable diseases. Our main aim is to prevent vector-borne diseases with the participation of every citizen,” she said.
The corporation has already formulated an action plan to prevent further spread of vector-borne diseases. The decision was taken unanimously in a special council meeting held last Tuesday. In addition to Zika virus, the corporation will also expedite measures to prevent malaria and flea-borne fever. As per the action plan, each ward will be divided into seven blocks and a special 10-member team will be constituted for each block. One of the main objectives of the initiative is to carry out mosquito eradication in a decentralised manner in one week starting July 15. Special vigilance committees at ward level will be led by the respective ward councillors. As part of the campaign, the bushes grown at the backyards of the houses will be cleared and cleaned.
Mass fogging will be done in the areas where there is a risk of infection. A study by the health department found that the epidemic was spreading again at four-year intervals. Accordingly, there is a possibility of mosquito-borne diseases in connection with the monsoon this year. Keeping this in mind, the municipality has intensified its containment activities.