Already, seven suspected cases of dengue have been detected in MCl area here. Most of the colony areas at Dera, South Balanda, Jagannath, Bharatpur, Ananta, Nandira and Kalinga have turned veritable mosquito breeding hubs with dumps of garbage, choked drains and expanding bush and creepers.
In order to prevent dengue, MCl is providing funds to the project area, but due to poor accountability, no one seems to be serious about the implementation of the sensitive programme. Social worker and scribe Artatran Pani has demanded preventive measures by cleaning garbage and drains and cutting bushes. Besides, he demanded that proper attention should be paid to the maintenance of overall sanitation in the mines and residential areas.
A local resident of Dera lalit Mohan Pradhan said, "We have been requesting several times for spreading of mosquito oil, bleaching powder and fogging work, but the authorities have so far cast deaf ear to it." CITU leader Anand Acharya alleged poor sanitation in lingaraj colony, Deulbera colony and lingaraj Open Cast Mines.
He said that fund for bush cutting is being embezzled. The engineering workshop of lingaraj OCP, where 162 employees including six engineers and 10 foremen are working, is in utterly poor shape with bad sanitation. It has become a breeding ground for insects and mosquitoes with many big holes around the work shop. All the officers, manager, project officer and General Manager are aware of the situation but they are not taking any step to plug the loophole.