Despite regular claims of an intensive anti-dengue campaign in the city by the health department new cases of dengue are continuing to surface with alarming regularity. With eight new samples of fever patients turning out positive on Tuesday the total number of dengue cases in the district has reached 90. The slum areas of the city like Bhagat Singh colony, Sanjay colony and Purani Basti are the worst affected areas of the city with most of the cases being reported from there.
The health department is claiming to conduct door to door surveys in the affected areas of the city. The District Vector Borne Diseases (DVBD) officer JP Bahuguna told The Pioneer that the department teams did door to door survey in Brahmawala, Majra and Mehuwala localities of the city on Tuesday. He claimed that these teams ensured decanting of collected waters in the cans, coolers and other objects and advised people to destroy the breeding grounds of the mosquito. The health department officials are also holding regular meetings with the Municipal Corporation for a joint drive against dengue. On Monday the corporation officials approved purchasing of fogging machine for every ward of the city. The so called efforts of the health department seem to fail as the number of dengue cases are increasing regularly. When contacted the district nodal officer for dengue Dr DK Chakrapani told The Pioneer that the department is executing anti-dengue drive on a big scale. He claimed that due to the preemptive measures taken up by the department the number of cases this year are less than last year.