VELLORE/CHENNAI/COIMBATORE: DAY, after four-year-old S Nakshatra died of dengue at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, three households in the district, were slapped with a fine of Rs 500 each, for allowing mosquitoes to breed.
Earlier on Wednesday, the school in which she was studying was fined a whopping Rs 1 lakh. With over 685 confirmed dengue cases being reported across the State since September, including at least four deaths around Chennai and Vellore, district administrations have swung into action to deal with the disease outbreak. Since January, a whopping 3,400 dengue cases have been reported across the State.
The Greater Chennai Corporation on Thursday slapped `1 lakh fine on the Integral Coach Factory for failing to prevent mosquito breeding in its premises. Sources said the inspection at ICF came after three contract workers tested positive for the disease. Similarly, Tiruvallur district administration has imposed `10,000 fine on Chennai division of Southern Railway.
Meanwhile, Director of School Education S Kannappan reiterated the guidelines issued for schools, and asked managements to ensure there’s no water stagnation in the campus. The school department circular had identified the common breeding grounds for aedes mosquito — cement tanks, buckets, water drums in toilets, tanks, broken containers and stagnant water near construction sites. “If lapses are found, public health officials will take necessary action against school authorities,” said Kannappan.
A circular sent by the Chief Educational Officer R Murugan said “The school headmasters should ensure the safety of students from Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the school premises. Students should be given tips about washing their hands properly before taking food and awareness about the prevention of dengue fever.”Teachers should inform the parents if the students have fever symptoms. Teachers should also take the students to the nearby hospitals, apart from the informing health department about the fever affected students.” Inspections were carried in the schools across the State.
Speaking to Express, official inspecting schools in Coimbatore said a few schools were not maintaining their premises. “We have warned that the teachers will be suspended immediately if they fail to keep the premises clean. Surprise inspections will continue in schools.” So far, the DPH and the Chennai Corporation have collected `40 lakh fine from institutions.
Vellore begins cleanup
Health department officials found larvae in water stagnating around a private school in Pallikonda. Plastic plates and cups were found strewn in the water. Nakshatra, the girl who succumbed to dengue, studied in this school. Now, officials have asked for tests to be conducted on other students of the school.
On Thursday, Vellore Collector A Shanmuga Sundram chaired a meeting to spread awareness of dengue. Corporation Commissioner S Sivasubramanian, Medical Officer Manivannan, and other health department staff were present. The meeting decided to have a dengue eradication team, comprising 300 workers, inspect all 60 wards in the Corporation. The highest number of dengue cases in the district, the Collector said, was reported within the Corporation limits. The workers have been told to inspect every household, and inform owners that water supply would be cut off and a fine would be levied if mosquitoes are found breeding in their premises.
Nine cases in Dindigul
With nine patients testing positive for dengue, Dindigul is under grip of fear. Of them, four are from Palani and five from Dindigul. A health official told TNIE that the district health department treated 4,913 fever patients in the past two months and of those, 969 are undergoing treatment as inpatients in 13 government hospitals across the district.
All the government hospitals are provided with cell counting machines to check the platelet count in patients’ blood. Wards for male and female patients have been set up in all government hospitals.
In Dindigul, the Joint Director for Health Services, Poongothai, said all government hospitals were well-equipped to treat dengue patients. ELISA test is available in the government hospitals in Dindigul and Palani, she added.“We are spreading awareness among the public not to get treatment from quacks, and to avoid practising self-medication,” she said.
Collectors get cracking
Salem Collector S A Raman inspected anti-dengue measures taken at Sithur panchayat in Edappadi Panchayat union here on Thursday. The Collector instructed the panchayat workers to slap fine on erring people who do not cooperate with the measures taken by the government. Addressing the people in Sithur, the Collector said steps were being taken to chlorinate open water sources like wells.
In Tiruvarur, Collector T Anand began the sensitisation campaign from the Collectorate.
Revenue Secretary J Radhakrishnan urged residents in Nagapattinam to take proactive measures to keep dengue away. He and district collector Praveen P Nair joined a mass cleaning campaign in Keechankuppam. (With inputs from, Dindigul, Tiruvarur, Salem, and Nagapattinam)