The New Indian Express            26.11.2013 

The Indian Express             25.11.2013

To check spread of dengue, BMC to ‘shame offenders’

Inispired by a unique initiative undertaken in Indonesia, the civic health department will roll out a new pre-monsoon action plan next year to curb incidences of dengue and malaria. Residents will be in for a shock if they ignore the warnings by the BMC officials to keep their premises free of mosquito breeding spots. As per the plan, a red circle will be painted at the entrances of defaulter buildings.

"In Indonesia, the government paints a red circle at the entrance of buildings that have mosquito breeding sites. We will have a similar exercise and label premises of defaulters who do not act on initial warning," said Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar.

Since the onset of monsoon this year, as many as 491 breeding spots have been found in slum and non-slum areas, and the maximum have been reported from the E-Ward (96 spots). According to the health department, 60 per cent breeding spots were found indoors. "We can take care of public places, but private premises are not our responsibility," Mhaiskar added.

While the BMC initially gave warnings to societies and offices, they later issued notices under Section 381(B) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act after building owners or caretakers failed to keep their premises clean.

"Till now, 489 notices have been issued to residential areas, schools, institutes and corporate houses. A fine, which ranges between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000, will be decided by the metropolitan magistrate," said Rajan Naringrekar, insecticide officer, BMC.

Despite notices, little change has been observed. "The hearing of these cases will start from January. Offenders don't take it seriously as the fine is small," Naringrekar said.

This year, D-Ward, comprising Grant Road, carried out a similar exercise in which a banner was put up near 14 buildings where breeding spots for the Aedes aegypti mosquito were found. The message on the flex read: "This building has dengue breeding spots. Is your house another breeding home?"

"We put up banners to make citizens aware that a breeding site has been found. This embarrassed residents and they became more careful. The banners were removed after 15-20 days," said ward officer P R Masurkar.

The 14 premises included a school, college and residential areas. Sonawala Compound was one such residential building. Sarika Rathore, a resident, said, "Due to lift repair work in our building, water had accumulated in the base of the lift passage. I keep my house clean but I can do nothing about mosquitoes breeding on the premises."