Kolkata: The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is taking up dengue control measures in advance this year. A clean-up drive across all 41 wards will start from the end of this month. BMC health department officials has already held a meeting with health workers to sensitise them.
“This was the first meeting with the health workers this year to discuss how dengue can be tackled in a more systematic manner.A special clean-up drive will start off from February 21 onwards,” said BMC MMiC (health) Banibrata Banerjee.
Last year, there had been 3,940 dengue cases in the BMC areas, the second highest in recent times. In 2022, BMC had recorded 4,222 cases. In the wake of last year’s dengue onslaught, BMC health workers now spray larvicide across localities in Salt Lake and Rajarhat Gopalpur round the year.
In Kolkata, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) had already started its vector-control drive in January itself. Last week, the civic authorities examined the efficacy of drones in maintaining a vigil over the dengue-prone areas. This apart, the KMC vector-control squad has started a house-to-house survey to find the potential breeding sites.
“We have started anti-vector activities to prevent the dreaded disease from becoming an epidemic,” said a civic official. Over 13,500 dengue cases were reported from across Kolkata last year.