Bengal Asks Districts To Ensure Cleanliness In Vulnerable Areas Amid Rise In Dengue Cases

Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Monday (September 25) directed the districts to immediately clean all dengue hotspots, based on entomological alerts, amid the increase in such cases in the state, officials said. The state also asked the central government offices in West Bengal to ensure cleanliness along with adequate preventive measures at under-construction projects, including those of the Kolkata Metro, they said.

Strict legal action would be taken against those not following the directions, they added.

Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi chaired a meeting with all district magistrates, the commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and chief medical officers of health (CMOHs), on the direction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, over the rise in dengue cases. The state government said in a statement,

Focused intensive cleaning will be taken up at all the hotspots immediately based on the entomological alerts. Special emphasis will be given to the removal of scrap materials, management of construction sites, closed factory premises and vacant lands.

Also Read: “Dengue Under Control In Tamil Nadu”: Health Minister Ma Subramanian

It added,

Railways and Metro authorities will be requested to take up proper cleaning activities within their premises along with adequate preventive activities at their construction sites.

At the meeting, Mr. Dwivedi directed the DMs to convene meetings with councilors of the civic bodies in their districts, and ensure that all the preventive steps are taken. The statement said,

Other central government organisations will also be requested to take up intensive cleaning activities within their premises. Cleaning of marketplaces, both in urban and peri-urban areas will be taken up. Legal actions will be initiated against property owners who don’t comply with the dengue preventive measures.

Also Read: Two Succumb To Dengue In Puducherry 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoilets are used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.