Dengue stalks northern fringes

Kolkata: Panic over dengue has spread faster than the disease itself in the congested neighbourhood located 700m from Belgachhia Road, thanks to two deaths in the past three days there.
In fact, anxious residents on Wednesday blocked Jessore Road in front of the Belgachhia tram depot, demanding steps to contain the disease that has taken deadly proportions this season, after a 35-year-old man, Akbar Ali, died of the fever on Tuesday.The crowd calmed down only after the local councillor assured them measures to stop mosquito breeding in the area. Near Belgachhia Road, where homes stand cheek-by-jowl, is a pond on the railway housing premises that has apparently not been cleaned for decades. "This is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. As it is under the railways, the corporation refuses to clean it," said a resident of the area, Tanvir Ahmed, who along with his friends, took to the streets. "Akbar's was not the only death in the area. A six-year-old boy, Azran Rehman, died of dengue on Tuesday as well. We need an end to it," he said.
Another resident, Ahmed Hussein, claimed municipal workers fumigated the area only when a death was reported. "But there is no measure to kill the larvae," Hussein alleged. "We have asked our kids not to play in the field during the day. We can't put their lives at risk."
The entire area ward 3 of KMC-approximately from Milk Colony area till the flyover leading to RG Kar Hospital-has been reeling from the dengue sting this year. At Belgachhia Villa, a housing society near Milk Colony, 22 cases have been reported so far. "It started around three months ago, but a fresh spurt was witnessed after the rain stopped," said Jaydip Guha, assistant secretary of the Belgachhia Villa Tenants' Association. "There are families where more than one person have been down with the fever." While no death has so far been reported at the housing society, condition of a few residents is reportedly serious.
Dr Ranajit Dey said he had been coming across fresh cases from neighbourhoods in Milk Colony, Paikpara, Birpara, Kalindi and Shyambazar. "The new cases were reported after the rain stopped. We fear the trend may continue till the temperature dips significantly," he said, pointing out that a case of relapse made the patient more vulnerable to fatality.
Ward 3 councillor Santanu Sen, who is also a doctor, felt mutation of the virus was making it indomitable. "Community medicine has three stages, the primary being health promotion and specific protection. That stage is often neglected by residents and they have a knee-jerk reaction when a disease is diagnosed," Sen said.