MCC launches malaria control drive

In an effort to tackle the rise in number of malaria cases in Mangalore city, the Mangalore City Corporation launched a malaria controlling drive on Monday. The drive that will last for three days, aims at inspecting all the construction sites in the city limits and identifying and destroying mosquito breeding sites.

As many as 11 teams comprising of 71 officials from health, town planning, engineering and revenue departments have been formed. The teams  will be monitored by assistant executive engineers and assistant town planning officers. Each team has been entrusted with the responsibility of visiting 20-30 construction sites in five to seven wards during the three days drive. The teams will visit over 250 construction sites, inspect the building and its premises, identify mosquito breeding sites and take steps to destroy the breeding, said MCC in-Charge Commissioner Gokuldas Nayak.

He was briefing about the programme at the launching of the drive at MCC hall on Monday.

He said that multi-purpose workers in the teams will take up blood test of the construction workers who are suffering from fever on the spot. The teams are provided with medical kits with medicines like primaquine, chlorofin and rapid diagnostic test kits. Notice will be issued to the builder who has failed to initiate measures to control malaria and the teams have been instructed to submit a report about such builders to the Commissioner.

Initiate strict action
Launching the drive, Mayor Mahabla Marla instructed the officials to take strict action against the builders who fail to prevent mosquito breeding in the sites.
“The teams can inform me or the commissioner if at all any builder or in-charge person in the construction site gives a negligent or blunt reply. Such instances were reported in the past,” he said.He also suggested to make it a continuos drive where the officials should inspect even the occupied buildings in the coming days. On the drastic increase in the number of malaria cases in Mangalore city limits while compared to other taluks, the Mayor said it was due to good report mechanism in place in the city.

“Are all the private laboratories in other taluks reporting about malaria cases to the urban local bodies?” he asked.