The Times of India                17.06.2013

Pune Municipal Corporation sends 600 notices to check water stagnation

PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has issued 600 notices to various establishments asking them to act against water stagnation on their premises to avoid breeding of mosquitoes and spread of insect-borne diseases.

"The threat of water-borne, insect and mosquito-borne diseases increases during the monsoon. Our department has carried out a ward-level survey to identify spots where water stagnates. The establishments responsible have been instructed to take measures to avoid stagnation," said a senior official of PMC's health department told reporters.

The department has issued 600 notices to various establishments after identifying the mosquito breeding spots. A majority of the sites include under-construction buildings, scrap dealers shops, godowns, storage centres and tyre workshops.

Officials said the health department has carried out a survey throughout the city after they identified 29,000 spots where mosquito breeding can take place. A continuous monitoring is on and the notices were served with the help of nuisance detection squad.

Civic officials said a scheme called zero mosquito has been initiated. The PMC has designed a microplanning system to curb mosquito-borne infections, such as dengue, malaria and chikungunya.

Citizens may soon have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 or even face a criminal case if civic officials come across mosquito-breeding sites in or around their property, according to PMC's recently drafted byelaws to control the spread of malaria, dengue, chikungunya and other insect- and mosquito borne diseases.

The draft says it is the responsibility of the individual or institution using a property to keep it free of mosquito-breeding sites.