Bus and tram depots, workshops and garages under the transport department will have to be cleaned to ensure there is no accumulation of water that can serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty said in a directive issued on Monday.
“All these precincts should be maintained properly to ensure there is no accumulation of water where mosquitoes can lay eggs. The depot managers and others will be held responsible for any lapses,” Chakraborty told The Telegraph.
The directive has been sent to all the heads in various bus and tram depots spread across the city and its adjoining areas. A separate order has been sent for depots across parts of north and south Bengal.
Senior officials said the depot managers will ensure that the cleaning staff keep the premises free of water.
The directive comes on a day when chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her concern over the number of dengue cases across the state.
Eight people have died of dengue and over 4,000 have been infected with dengue between January and July 26, a report by the state health department says.
Senior officials in the transport department said there were 10 bus depots in and around Calcutta: Nilgunj in Barrackpore, Belghoria, Paikpara, Maniktala, Salt Lake, Kasba, Garia, Lake, Taratala, Thakurpukur and Howrah.
Almost all these depots have separate garages and workshops attached to them where vehicles lie stationed for weeks till they are overhauled and made road-worthy.
Senior officials admitted that most of these depots were located in densely populated areas where mosquito breeding in small water pools could prove dangerous for the spread of dengue, mainly transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.
Metro has reported how these mosquitoes are breeding in unusual sites cavities in trees and bamboo fences and cracks in canals and embankments.
“There are cleaning staff in each of the depots who are supposed to keep the premises clean. Since bus depots invite heavy footfall every day, there is a simultaneous heavy generation of garbage. Rainwater usually gets trapped in these places,” admitted a senior transport department official.
Besides buses, there are seven tram depots — Kidderpore, Belgachia, Rajabazar, Tollygunge, Ballygunge, Shyambazar and Nonapukur.
A majority of these depots have discarded materials where water tends to accumulate. In some of them, the unused tramcars remain one of the biggest breeding sites for mosquitoes, officials admitted.