Corporation ups anti-dengue drives, checks & destroys breeding grounds in Chennai

CHENNAI: To curb the breeding of dengue-causing mosquitoes, the city corporation has seized more than 7.6 tonnes of waste including tyres, pots, containers from across the 15 zones during the precaution drives conducted this month.
With an aim to intensify anti-dengue drives, deputy commissioner (health) Madhusudhan Reddy inspected areas in Madhavaram zone on Tuesday. Source reduction activities besides fogging were also carried out by civic body workers to prevent breeding of mosquitoes.
“Health workers have been asked to carry out source reduction activities at war footing,” a civic body official said. Nearly 1,965 malaria workers carried out inspections across the 15 zones and cleaned 609 streets. Workers checked 83,808 spots for breeding of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and destroyed breeding grounds, the official added.
Monitoring officers appointed for each zone are spearheading activities including flood preparedness, the official said. “We are creating awareness among residents on preventing water stagnation in their households. Overhead tanks, buckets, containers and coconut shells should be checked for breeding. Chlorine should be added to water in overhead tanks,” a senior corporation official said.
He added that conservancy staff were told to visit offices, educational institutions, hotels and theatres to carry out source reduction activities on a daily basis. Pamphlets are also being distributed among the public on the precautions to be taken and their role in preventing dengue, said an official.
Municipal administration minister S P Velumani on Tuesday released a handbook on dengue prevention. He instructed corporation officials to check and destroy breeding grounds on a daily basis and also check drinking water supply for permissible chlorine levels of 0.2 PPM.