Municipal councillors from Bidhannagar, South Dum Dum and Baranagar should be made part of the drive to curb dengue and it would be better if the district magistrate could discuss the situation with them, West Bengal chief secretary H.K. Dwivedi said on Tuesday while discussing ways to control the mosquito menace with senior officials.
Representatives of the health department, who were present at the video conference with their counterparts from four districts — Howrah, Hooghly, North 24-Parganas and Kolkata — said the chief secretary was underlining the need for “micro intervention at the ward level” in areas from where a large number of dengue cases were being reported.
“The chief secretary instructed the district magistrates of Howrah, Hooghly and North 24-Parganas to try and talk to the ward councillors, apart from the administrative and health department staff, and try to devise an effective surveillance and monitoring mechanism to fight dengue,” a senior health department official who attended the meeting said.
“There was a specific reference to at least four municipalities in North 24-Parganas and Hooghly during the discussion.”
Dengue cases have been on the rise in several parts of northeast Kolkata, including Kestopur, Arjunpur, Baguiati, Teghoria, Chinar Park and Salt Lake over the last few weeks.
A 36-year-old man from Kestopur’s Samarpally, who had tested positive for dengue, died at hospital on Monday.
“Since dengue cases are on the rise in areas under some municipalities across these three districts, the chief secretary instructed the district magistrates to talk to councillors and not just to the chairpersons of the municipalities,” a health department official said.
Figures with the health department say 932 people across West Bengal tested positive on Tuesday. Over 6,100 samples were tested during the day.
Senior health department officials who attended the meeting said the chief secretary also instructed the principal secretary of the urban development and municipal affairs department to hold meetings with the municipalities from these three districts where dengue cases were on the rise.
The thrust should be on engaging more conservancy staff in the affected zones, Dwivedi said.
“The chief secretary also instructed district health officials and their counterparts in Kolkata to be in contact with private hospitals and nursing homes and keep count of the daily positive cases,” an official said.