Goa: Vasco civic body buys 20 lakh of fumigants to tackle dengue

VASCO: The Mormugao Municipal Council has finally procured fumigants following increasing criticism from both councillors and citizens over the large number of dengue cases being reported from the port town.
MMC has bought 20 litres of the chemical which will be used to fumigate 25 wards.
It may be recalled that at a meeting organised by the Vasco urban health centre (UHC) about 15 days ago a few councillors had created an uproar over the non-availability of fumigants.
Looking at the alarming increase of dengue cases in Vasco, the councillors had said that there was growing demand by people to fog their wards but the fumigant quantity available with them was insufficient.
Chief officer Jayant Tari had expressed his difficulties in getting the stock stating that there is only one dealer in Goa at Panaji.
“When a dengue case is reported the UHC carries out fogging only in the surrounding area, but people demand that the entire ward be treated. Here we become helpless as the chemical is not locally available. However, the municipality has done a great job by making the chemical available. It has placed more orders. Councillors are availing of the fumigant as per their requirement,” New Vaddem councillor Yatin Kamurlekar told TOI.
The most number of dengue cases in the state have been reported from the urban health centre at Vasco and the primary health centre at Cortalim combined. Health officials who visited the areas found that the problem is that in the slums of Baina and New Vaddem in Vasco, people follow unhealthy water storage practices.