Keeping dirty water stored at home may cost Ranchiites more than a vector borne infection and subsequent illnesses. The State Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (SVBDCP) along with the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has started slapping a fine of up to Rs.1000 on households where water containing mosquito larvae are found more than once during inspection, officials from SVBDCP said on Thursday.
“During our awareness campaign, we go to different houses and check if any water collected in the house has mosquito larvae. No fine is charged if larvae are found during the first round of inspection. However, if mosquito larvae are found in the same house during the second round of inspection, we fine the occupants of the house,” said Dr. Vijay Nath Khanna, In-Charge of SVBDCP.
Khanna said that the fine varies depending on the past record of the household in storing larvae containing water. The fine, he added, varies from Rs.50 to Rs.1000. The District Administration here has been running a rigorous campaign in ward number 23 in Ranchi’s Hindpiri. “If we find mosquito larvae in a house for the second time, then the fine will be Rs.50. However, if the occupants do not learn from their mistakes and continue storing dirty water, then the fine may increase and go up to Rs.1000,” he said.
In 2017, the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) took a similar initiative to put a check on Dengue cases in the national capital, say media reports. The DMC started charging fines up to Rs.50,000 if Dengue or Chikungunya larvae was found in a person’s property. The next year, the Patliala district administration in Punjab started lodging First Information Reports (FIRs) against owner of the property if Dengue larvae were found in residential areas.
With the rise in the number of cases of vector borne diseases, the State has sounded an alert for Dengue, Chikungunya and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) here. According to figures with SVBDCP, in the past one week, the number of Dengue cases has increased from 26 to 32. Besides, three new Chikungunya and JE cases have come to light in Jharkhand. “We tested 428 samples for Dengue and 32 of them were positive. Out of the 423 samples tested for Chikungunya, 13 were positive. We also tested 375 samples for Japanese Encephalitis and 15 of them were positive,” said Khanna, adding that the three fresh cases of JE were all reported from East Singhbhum district. Out of the total 15 JE cases reported in Jharkhand this year, four were from Ranchi, two from Ramgarh, four from East Singhbhum and one each from Dhanbad, Giridih, Gumla, Dumka and Saraikela. By now, JE has claimed two lives in Jharkhand, both in State capital Ranchi.