New Delhi: Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Friday (July 5) chaired a meeting, which was attended by the concerned departments of the Secretariat over preparedness to deal with Dengue. Mr Bharadwaj told ANI that on the coming Monday (July 8), he has called the Managing Directors of the hospitals in Delhi over preparations.
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He said,
When the rainy season starts, the risk of dengue, chikungunya, and malaria increases. In such a situation, discussions are held with all the departments. We have sent instructions to DDA, MCD, PWD, NDMC, and the Health Department to ensure that water does not accumulate in their respective jurisdictions so that breeding does not occur. Hospitals have also been alerted to keep all the information related to dengue.
The Delhi Minister added,
We had a meeting with the Health Department on this subject 2-3 days ago, today a meeting of all the departments has been held. On Monday, we called the MDs of the hospitals so that the preparation of the hospitals can be reviewed.
Recently, the Delhi government held an emergency meeting in view of heavy rains and waterlogging in the national capital on Friday. The meeting was held at the Delhi Secretariat.
Following the meeting, Delhi Minister Atishi said that an emergency meeting was attended by all senior officials of the government and several important decisions were taken.
Ms Atishi said that the Delhi government has identified 200 hotspots that are prone to waterlogging. She said that the reason behind waterlogging is excessive rainfall which is more than the capacity of drains.
She said,
We have identified around 200 hotspots till the last rain. Out of these, 40 hotspots are under CCTV surveillance by PWD… You have to understand that if Delhi receives rainfall of 228 mm, then it will take time to decrease the water level… Right now, Delhi has received more rainfall than the capacity of the drains. That’s why we are witnessing waterlogging at several places.
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(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 in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. 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 – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) 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, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, 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 like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.