The New Town authorities are sending notices to construction sites in all three action areas to ensure that there is no accumulation of freshwater and asking them to comply with their dengue-prevention guidelines, an official of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) said.
Debashis Sen, the NKDA chairman, said as New Town is still a developing city, almost every block in action areas I, II and III has buildings coming up.
During construction, labourers often dig up open wells, Sen said. Deep pits are also dug for the construction of foundation pillars and water accumulates in them.
“This is extremely risky as such large open pools of water present the perfect breeding grounds for the dengue-causing Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes. To ensure that they adhere to our guidelines we are sending in warning notices, after which we will take legal action as well as slap stop-work notices,” Sen said.
Till Wednesday, at least two people have tested positive for dengue, according to figures released by NKDA.
An NKDA official said there are more than 5,000 buildings in various stages of construction in the three action areas.
Guidelines for builders to adhere to have already been drafted by the NKDA.
The guidelines mention that if it is difficult to empty out water reservoirs on the upper floors of multi-storey buildings under construction, then kerosene, diesel or mosquito larvicidal oil should be sprayed. The oil creates a layer on the water surface, preventing larvae from coming up to breathe.
A senior NKDA official said builders would be slapped with a notice if mosquito larvae is detected on their construction site.
All residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) of New Town have also been asked to ensure that there is no accumulation of rainwater on their rooftops, in flower pots and common areas.
The authorities have adopted a strategy where a day before door-to-door visits by vector control teams is conducted, they send in drones to map out the area.
“The drones can cover a lot of ground much faster than teams on the ground. Hence, we are deploying drones, which identify high risk areas before ground teams are sent in,” the official said.
A dengue testing clinic has been opened at the NKDA-run primary healthcare centre near Delhi Public School New Town.
Shops gutted
Howrah: Five shops in Uluberia’s Kalsapa Market were gutted after a fire broke out in one of them on Wednesday afternoon, police said. The shop where the fire originated has been lying shut for some time, the police said. Fire tenders later reached the spot and brought the fire under control.