South Delhi Mayor hits out at Kejriwal govt over anti-dengue campaign

South Delhi Mayor Mukesh Suryan on Tuesday alleged that the Delhi government was playing ''campaign politics'' when it came to the fight against the vector-borne diseases, termed its anti-dengue drive an ''eyewash''.

The senior BJP leader in the party-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), at a press conference here, claimed that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was ''taking credit'' in controlling vector-borne diseases in the city.

At least 158 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital this year, according to an SDMC report released on Monday.

However, no deaths have been reported due to dengue in the city till now, it said.

''The Delhi government is playing campaign politics as their anti-dengue drive, '10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10 Minute' is just an eyewash in the fight against vector-borne diseases,'' the mayor alleged.

Suryan sought explanation from Kejriwal as to ''how vector-borne diseases can be controlled through advertisements''. The campaign, '10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10 Minute' was starred by Kejriwal in September 2019, and carried forward in 2020.

Sources in Delhi government said, the drive this year was started on August 29, however, no inauguration or publicity was done for it.

Besides, Suryan, Deputy Mayor Pawan Sharma and Leader of House Indrajeet Sehrawat, also were present during the press conference, held at the Civic Center here. Suryan claimed the Delhi chief minister wanted to take credit for works done by the SDMC on controlling the outbreak of the vector-borne diseases, while the civic body is ''working on ground level''.

The allegation comes ahead of the civic elections due in 2022.

A total of 1,130 DBC (dengue breeding checking) workers and 1,300 field staff, among others are active on ground in the fight against dengue, chikungunya and malaria, Suryan said.

A total of 57,78,889 houses have been inspected out of which, mosquito-breeding was found at 37,552 houses, till date, he said.

The SDMC is the nodal agency among the civic bodies for controlling vector-borne diseases in Delhi.

The mayor said that DBC workers will be regularised once the Delhi government will give its approval.

Deputy Mayor Sharma alleged that Delhi government is spending huge amounts of money on advertisements, while the same should be allocated to the civic agencies, so that additional measures on ground, could be initiated.

Leader of House Sehrawat said 31,143 notices have been issued, and legal action has been initiated against 2,867 violators.

In all four zones, 5,355 banners have been displayed, 6,999 charts and 4,55,210 stickers have been put up, while nearly 21 lakh handbills have been distributed, he claimed.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)