The Times of India  31.08.2010

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government residential colony in Timarpur, one of the largest cluster of quarters for state government employees, is under dengue threat. The water tank in this colony has been found to have heavy mosquito breeding as it has remained without a cover for a long time now.

Residents say that the cover of the concrete structure with a capacity of more than five lakh gallons broke more than a year ago. Since then it has not been repaired. The colony is a stone's throw from the residence of the Mayor."There is heavy mosquito breeding in these tanks. The water in this huge tank has been lying without cover for months but the civic agencies responsible for maintenance have chosen to ignore this," said Sushil Sharma, one of the residents.

He said that several houses in the neighbourhood have reported dengue cases in the past few days. The water from the tank, he added, is supplied to more than 800 houses and is used for both drinking and general purposes. Sanjeev Bhati, another resident, said his sons — one eight-year-old and another 10-year-old — were suffering from dengue.

"From rainwater to bird droppings and even faecal matter of animals collects in the tank as there is no cover. We have to use the same water as there are no other options. It is causing high incidence of gastrointestinal problems too," said a resident.

Dr Tara Negi, a medical officer in the colony's dispensary, said that they receive one to two cases of suspected dengue everyday. "We have exhausted the dengue kits so we refer patients to Aruna Asaf Ali hospital now," said Negi. She added that cases of diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal problems are also prevalent. She, however, refused to comment whether this is due to the water tank problem. The colony falls under Civil Lines Zone, which is among the worst-affected areas in the present dengue outbreak. Till date, total 103 confirmed cases of dengue have been reported from this zone.

When contacted, PWD officials responsible for maintenance work said that there are plans to construct a new water tank in the colony. "There is a shop in front of the compound. We have written to the PWD Secretary several times to allow us to demolish it. Till then, bulk of the water is being supplied from another tank," said assistant engineer V K Gupta. MCD Health officer N K Yadav said that he will look into the matter and take necessary action.