Urban News

Indian Express 08.04.2010

Special training to keep Games dengue-free

Hamari Jamatia Tags : commonwealth games health arrangements, delhi Posted: Thursday , Apr 08, 2010 at 0107 hrs

New Delhi: In October, when dengue mosquitoes begin breeding, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will be ready with its squad to tackle the menace. The civic body is setting up eight new control rooms that will stock pesticides for prompt action. The council is also training its health officers in using pesticides to check the incidence of mosquito-related diseases during the Commonwealth Games.

According to Dr P K Sharma, Medical Officer of Health (MOH), NDMC, different approaches are required to free different areas of mosquitoes. “We teach them how to use various types of pesticides on land, water and shrubs. Different medicines are required for even clean and dirty water,” he said.

The control rooms will be set up in the eight dengue circles that NDMC had earlier constituted to tackle situations — Gole Market, Mandir Marg, President’s Estate, Golf Links, Chanakyapuri, Netaji Nagar, Lodi Colony and Prithvi Raj Lane.

The NDMC office at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Place in Gole Market, which already has a control room, will act as the central control room with a helpline number 23340108, which will be operational in a few months.

After receiving a call about mosquito breeding, the central control room will contact the affected area’s control room to send help. Each control room will have two spray teams.

The NDMC Health department, responsible for cleanliness in Lutyens’ Zone, will start setting up the control rooms from June.

At present, the civic body is inspecting its residential colonies to check for stagnant water. The new control rooms will tackle malaria, chikungunya and dengue.

Besides setting up the control rooms, the NDMC will also hold awareness programmes in its area and schools. In the past, the civic body had distributed pamphlets on prevention of mosquito breeding and regularly booked people whose tanks are found to be unclean.