123 Kolkata: The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) will conduct a cleaning drive using hydraulic dumpers in the areas of BMC ward 1 to ward 27, which cover Rajarhat Gopalpur areas, including Baguiati, Kestopur, Kaikhali and surrounding places of the airport to prevent dengue.
BMC officials said that the cleaning drive will be conducted throughout the year. "Dengue control drives are being taken almost year-round. Larvicide spraying is done at periodic intervals," said a BMC official. The authorities have initiated the process to engage an agency that will provide the hydraulic dumpers to the civic body for conducting the cleaning drive from BMC ward 1 to 27.
As per figures available with BMC, only three dengue cases were reported this year since Jan 1, as the authorities are preparing to start their dengue control activities. "Cleaning drive will be conducted across all dengue prone areas with the aim to prevent any dengue outbreak," said an official.
Officials said it has been noticed in the last few years that there were pocket areas of Baguiati and Kestopur where most dengue cases were getting reported from. "Larvicide will also be sprayed in the dengue prone places,"officials said.
The BMC area of Salt Lake and Rajarhat Gopalpur ended last year with only 390 dengue cases, the second lowest since 2017. The lowest since 2017 was recorded in 2020, the year when the Covid pandemic broke out, with only 238 dengue cases recorded across the BMC area.
There have been severe dengue outbreaks in BMC area in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, BMC had ended with 3,956 dengue cases, the second highest in recent times. In 2022, the civic body had recorded 4,222 dengue cases, the highest since 2017.
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