Despite Municipal Corporations claiming to have taken all the steps to contain vector-borne diseases, cases chikungunya have registered an upward trend.
Senior official of the Corporations said most of the people in East and North Delhi do not allow “dengue breeding checkers” (DBC) workers inside their houses, making it difficult for workers to check breeding and suggest preventive measures in order to stop the menace.
As per the status report of SDMC, 96 cases of chikungunya have been reported with 10 of them being recorded this month, even as the authorities are gearing up to combat any outbreak of the vector-borne diseases. Meanwhile, 40 cases of dengue have also been registered this year. With seventeen cases of malaria cases in May, the total figure reached to 30 this year so far.
However, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) officials said they have already taken measures to prevent the menace and it has started to bear fruits as there is not even a single case of dengue or chikungunya that has been reported from any of its four zones this week.
“Apart from checking breeding and taking appropriate action, the South Corporation has also adopted preventive measures to bring the menace under control,” he added.
“Top officers of the Public Health Department were also instructed to take more serious actions keeping in view reporting of one case of malaria in SDMC jurisdiction in a report for the week ending May 27. The National Malaria Control Institute is being contacted for possible help in this regard,” he said.
Majority of people claimed that DBC workers have not visited to check breeding. Many among them have never seen fogging in their areas. The state of confusion prevails among citizen regarding whom and how should approach the authority for number of civic issues.
Delhi has multiple agencies providing various services and it is difficult for citizens to know which service is provided by which agency. Also, there are certain services, like road management, where an overlap of services takes place. In such cases, it is extremely difficult for citizens to understand which agency to approach for which service.”
A study conducted by Praja Foundation in May this year also revealed that Delhi needs a single point public grievance management system to effectively address the numerous complaints raised by its residents regarding civic services.