Residents say municipalities working only on paper, but nothing can be seen on the ground
Residents in the national capital are facing a mosquito crisis. Every house in Delhi is complaining about the excessive mosquito breeding. While the local bodies claim that all steps are being taken to fight the mosquito menace, residents have a different story to tell.
According to the residents, the municipal bodies are working merely on the paper and nothing can be seen on the ground. As per the data provided by the civic bodies, the domestic breeding checkers have visited 51 lakh houses this year and have sprayed over 52,000 houses. They have found 2,293 homes as violating the norms and 167 cases have been filed — 152 by SDMC, nine by the north and six by the east corporation.
BS Vohra, president, Federation of Residents Welfare Association, said, “Just because the authorities fail to complete their duty on time, the residents all over Delhi have to suffer. Lakhs of rupees are wasted on medical check-ups. Moreover, the ways to curb this problem is also not carried out in a proper manner.”
Dengue causes flu-like illness, with symptoms of a headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pains, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands or rash lasting for two to seven days. Death, though rare, is from potentially fatal complications, such as dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome.
The most common symptoms of chikungunya are fever and joint pain, and patients may report a headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rashes.
The Delhi High Court on April 12 pulled up the Delhi administration for their “complete insensitivity” in controlling vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya and said it would impose fines and imprison for up to six months officials if their negligence led to an outbreak. LG Anil Baijal held a meeting on Friday to check the administration’s preparedness to fight the menace.
COURT SPEAK
- The Delhi HC on April 12 pulled up the Delhi administration for “complete insensitivity” in controlling vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya .
- The court bench also said that it would impose fines and imprisonment for up to six months on officials if their negligence lead to an outbreak of these diseases.
VOICES
It is so difficult to do any productive outdoor work after 6 pm. It is even difficult to go to the vegetable market to get the daily vegetables because there are so many mosquitoes. It becomes impossible to stand in the open for more than a few seconds.
—Meher, Resident of Lajpat Nagar.
I had organised a birthday party for my son on our terrace. After 7 pm, it got so difficult to even stand there that we had to shift everything downstairs to our home. There was no way that we could eat in the open with so many mosquitoes around.
—Wazir Kaura, Resident of Rajouri Garden.
Every once in a while, especially on weekends, I like my evening coffee in the balcony facing the trees. But, this is just not possible these days with the increasing number of mosquitoes. Leave aside that, just the thought of standing outside makes me puke.
—Anmol Narang, Resident of Janakpuri
The major cause of the problem is garbage. We have garbage strewn everywhere on the roads which is the easiest breeding ground for mosquitoes, especially during the summers. Even if it is cleaned, a new pile is created in a matter of days.
—Gautam, Resident of Nizammudin
Fumigation is carried out but that doesn’t help at all. Especially in summers, the problem increases as the water stored in the coolers acts as a breeding ground for the mosquitoes. This is a perpetual and these temporary measures are so solutions at all
—Shalini Chawla, Resident of central Delhi
Major steps need to be taken to make sure the mosquito menace in the Capital comes down. The authorities should spray some medicines in the garbage which is lying in the open so that the insects don’t get attracted to it. This leads to a large the number of people falling sick.
—Parul, Resident of Kamla Nagar
EXPERT SPEAK
We have been receiving numerous complaints of an excessive rise in mosquitoes in the national Capital and following which we have intensified our measures to tackle the issue. More such activities will be undertaken in the coming days to handle the menace.
—Yogendra Singh Mann, spokesperson for North and East civic bodies
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