Councillors complain about a rise in dengue cases

Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) councillors have complained about a rise in mosquito density on the premises of educational institutions and open spaces in various wards of the city.

Corporation Public Health Standing Committee chairperson G. Shanthakumari said the GCC has registered 654 dengue cases in September so far.

At the Public Health Committee meeting held on Friday, councillors demanded that the GCC increase manpower for mosquito control.

“Owing to Census operations, sector workers shouldered additional responsibility, and subsequently, mosquito control work was affected in some areas. Sanitary officers and inspectors have also been given additional responsibility of conservancy. This has affected public health. The mosquito density has increased in the city. Councillors have pointed to the rise in dengue cases in many hospitals.”

On Saturday, the Corporation began a drive to reduce mosquito density in educational institutions across the city.

GCC Commissioner G.S. Sameeran said: “Out of the 3,103 educational institutions in the city, 1,635 have been covered so far. The remaining work will be taken up next week. A team of workers, along with sanitary inspectors, will visit each institution to check domestic breeding.”

“Today, we covered 1976 premises within 231 colleges, schools, and other institutions, through a mass programme. Out of these, 90 were schools and 159 hostels. On these premises, 592 containers showed breeding. All were destroyed,” he said.

“We have conducted an extensive search for breeding sources and deployed additional manpower to identify hidden sources and complete the clearing. Today alone, we removed 655 kg of unwanted materials and 82 kg of tyres — all of which could be potential breeding sources — from Anna University. Similarly, mass source reduction programmes have been conducted in 90 schools. A total of 258 dengue cases have been reported this week,” Dr. Sameeran said.

Medical camps held

The GCC also conducted medical camps at 48 locations across the city on Saturday. The civic body has also intensified fogging operations.