The councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) have to be get involved in the fight against dengue on the ground to prevent further spread of the disease, which has turned “scary”, the mayor and deputy mayor said on Thursday.
The dengue situation has turned scary, mayor Firhad Hakim said.
“Unless we turn the fight against dengue into a movement, we will not be successful. Organise awareness camps, involve clubs in battling dengue,” he said.
Around 900 dengue cases have been reported in Kolkata this year.
Six people have died since August and five of them in 10 days this month.
Several hospitals have reported a sharp rise in the number of people admitted with dengue.
Atin Ghosh, deputy mayor and head of the KMC health department, said all councillors were sent a report listing the places in their wards where mosquito larvae were found and where vector-control workers were not allowed to work, but they rarely took any corrective steps.
If councillors were proactive in cleaning vacant plots in their wards, many of the properties would not have turned into mosquito breeding sites, he said at the meeting with the councillors held at the civic headquarters.
He also said the KMC must issue notices to all people in whose houses or properties mosquito larvae were found.
Such notices, he said, can trigger people into action.
Some of the councillors said there were not enough vehicles to remove solid waste that had accumulated over months.
They also pointed out that vector-control workers never visited puja pandals under construction, which at times turn into mosquito breeding grounds.
“If councillors start visiting places in their wards, people will become more aware (about the disease and how to prevent it). As elected representatives, councillors have to be on the road to combat dengue,” Ghosh said at the meeting.
Debasish Kumar, mayoral council member, said the KMC should ensure that vector-control teams visit under-construction pandals, which he said could turn into mosquito breeding sites.
