The Pioneer 03.11.2010
MCD blames Punjab, Haryana for dengue messStaff Reporter | New Delhi
With the number of dengue cases kept rising during last couple of months, Municipal Corporation of Delhi held neighbouring States like Punjab and Haryana responsible for the mess. Claiming that administration of those states did not take any initiative to control mosquito breeding, MCD Health Committee Chairman VK Monga said, "Dengue cases originate in neighbouring States and spread to the city. Due to unchecked mosquito breeding there, people get affected and come to Delhi for treatment leading to transmission of the disease".
"The rampant anti-mosquito breeding drive that is carried out here is not prevalent in the NCR region. As such mosquito breeding there goes unchecked and when people from those areas travel to Delhi, transmission of the disease begins," he also added. The BJP leader said Najafgarh, which is close to Gurgaon, reports several dengue cases due to this factor. "Moreover dengue patients, coming from Gurgaon for treatment in Apollo Hospital or those coming from Ghaziabad for treatment in GTB Hospital, show their relative's address in Delhi as their own. Ultimately the count of Delhi cases rise," he said.
Meanwhile, the dengue menace started showing some signs of decline in the national Capital with the city recording only 22 fresh cases now-a-days in comparison to about 70 cases per day on an average last week. For most of last 10 days, the city reported over 60 or 70 cases a day though the figure was 40 on Monday. The total number of patients this season has reached 5,605. This year's total is more than double of that reported in 2006 when the number of cases was 2,537, the previous high in the past five years. Eight persons have lost their lives to dengue this season. Shahdara North Zone has reported the highest number of dengue cases this season (740) followed by Rohini (712) and Civil Lines (612). Delhi has also reported 33 chikungunya cases this season as per official figures.though health officials say the exact number could be much more.
