Despite tall claims by the civic bodies, dengue cases are rising unabated in the Capital. Since Thursday, a record 395 fresh cases were reported from different parts of the city.
The alarming rise in the number of cases raises serious questions about the efforts being made by the municipal corporations and other civic agencies who have been getting fogging and door-to-door inspections done and have launched awareness drives to tackle the menace. However, despite all these measures, the number of people affected by dengue this season in Delhi crossed the 2,000-mark on Monday. A total of 2,124 cases have been reported till September 30 this year, with North Delhi alone registering over 1,000 cases. A total of 2,093 dengue cases were registered in the whole of last year and alarmingly a further rise in dengue cases is expected this year.
All corporations have intensified efforts to check the disease, but officials said they were facing lack of cooperation from households. "Some people do not let Domestic Breeder Checkers enter their households. Some even quarrel with them, hence, it makes our job difficult," South Delhi Municipal Corporation Commissioner Manish Gupta said.
"We have introduced a 'Dengue homework programme' in our schools where students are asked to collect information about the disease. In the process they sensitise not just themselves but also their parents," Gupta said. "Fumigation, anti-larval routines and regular checking is being carried out," he said.
While the official death toll now stands at three, six people have been put under the suspected category by the municipal bodies. The latest victim has been identified as six-year-old Priya from Okhla in South Delhi who succumbed to dengue on September 23. The Capital had witnessed a large number of dengue cases in 2010 with over 6,000 cases being reported. In 2008, over 1,300 cases were registered, 1,153 in 2009, 1,131 in 2011.
While figures for various corporations are North (1,026), South (540) and East (435), 61 cases were reported from regions in Delhi outside the jurisdiction of the MCD and 30 cases in other category. Cases in Rohini Zone mounted to over 500, still the highest,
Shahdara (North) and Shahdara (South) Zones saw 244 and 199 cases respectively. Narela (164), Najafgarh (185), Karol Bagh (148) and Civil lines (178) too posted over 100 figures, among other places. Mosquito breeding has been found in 134, 283 households against 79,501 last year for the same period. The number of prosecutions so far is 14,302 compared to 4,277 last year for the same period.
Meanwhile, Mayor of South Delhi Savita Choudhary on Monday convened an emergency meeting with the Commissioner, Municipal Health Office and other senior officials of the Public Health Department. Specific directions were issued to the officials to take immediate action to control dengue.
The Mayor said that from now the location of fogging machines will be made available on the official website of SDMC, www.mcdonline.gov.in. She said: "We have increased the number of fogging machines in all four zones but citizens are not able to derive maximum benefit from them.
With this step citizens will know whether fogging machine are available in their area are not." Choudhary further said the Corporation has adequate medicines and machines to control dengue and “we are providing a sufficient budget to tackle this deadly disease.”
She also directed the officials to start a special sanitation drive in sensitive areas. The Mayor directed the officials to ask all Governewment and private hospitals to update the corporation about dengue patients admitted in their hospitals and also directed all HoDs of Government, autonomous and Educational Institutes to take preventive measures against dengue in their offices and institutions. She also asked them to spread awareness about dengue among their employees.