Addressing mediapersons after a high-level meet on measures to control fever and the chances of outbreak of an epidemic, Chandy said that a campaign for the distribution of  potable water and mosquito control would be launched across the state. “The Health Department, Kerala Water Authority and local bodies would be involved in the collective campaign,” he said.

Local bodies would be instructed to organise ward-level meets and stabilise the grass roots-level support for the programme,through people’s involvement.

Health Minister V S Sivakumar said that steps would be taken to ensure that water used by soda and ice manufacturers have the prescribed quality levels. The awareness campaign would also lay thrust on consumption of only boiled water as a habit.

Ensuring water quality checks under the local bodies would be the responsibility of a team led by respective panchayat secretaries. Water Resources Minister P J Joseph, Health Panchayat - Water Resources Department secretaries and top officials attended the meet.

Each grama panchayat ward would be allocated Rs 25,000 each for prevention measures, the break-up for which would be Rs 10,000 from NRHM, Rs 10,000 from the Health Department and ` 5,000 from the panchayat’s own fund. Junior health inspectors and junior public health nurses would be in-charge of the ward-level activities. The ward-level sanitation committees of each panchayat have been directed to evaluate the prevention measures before May 6.

Areas which have reported an epidemic outbreak in the past and which are still prone to it will be identified to take preventive measures. District-level evaluation talks would be held on May 15. The equipment and chemicals required for mosquito eradication would be stored by ward-level committees. For diagnosis, the plan is to avail the services of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, National Institute of Virology at Alappuzha, DCRG, Pondicherry and Virology institute, Manipal.