The Hindu 28.06.2013
Fine of Rs. 50 for mosquito breeding
The Chennai Corporation on Thursday instructed its officials to
intensify penal action against owners of properties that serve as
breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Residents who fail to take
measures to ‘abate nuisance’ within seven days will have to pay a fine
of Rs. 50. An additional amount of Rs. 10 per day will be collected till
the breeding ground is cleared.
A meeting to commence a mass
campaign in the city was held on Thursday. Members of residential
associations have been asked to report breeding grounds in their
neighbourhoods to health department officials of the Corporation. The
city has more than 11 lakh residential and commercial properties.
“Any
overhead tank or sump left open by residents can be pointed out by the
residents’ associations. If the person concerned refuses to heed the
advice of neighbours, he can be reported to officials. The sanitary
inspector will serve notices to such residents under sections 83 &
84 of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act,” said an official.
Members
of residents’ associations will take part in a rally on Sunday as part
of a mass campaign to prevent breeding of mosquitoes in the coming
months. Pamphlets will be distributed to residents.
This is part
of a new strategy to deal with mosquito menace during the rains.
Additional malaria workers too will be deployed in wards to cope with
the rising mosquito densities from July to October. The workers will
also desilt drains, clear breeding sources, carry out fogging operations
and screen overhead tanks.
The intermittent rains and water
scarcity over the coming months are likely to result in cropping up of
artificial and natural mosquito breeding grounds, posing a serious
challenge to mosquito control operations, an official said.
Overhead tanks or sumps left open by residents can now be brought to the notice of the Corporation.