Bengal asks districts to ensure cleanliness in vulnerable areas amid rise in dengue cases

Special emphasis will be given to the removal of scrap materials, management of construction sites, closed factory premises and vacant lands, the state government said in a statement.Railways and Metro authorities will be requested to take up proper cleaning activities within their premises along with adequate preventive activities at their construction sites, it added.At the meeting, the chief secretary directed the DMs to convene meetings with councillors of civic bodies in their districts and ensure that all the preventive steps are taken.Central government organisations will also be requested to take up intensive cleaning activities within their premises.

The West Bengal government on Monday directed all district administrations to immediately clean all dengue hotspots, based on entomological alerts, amid the increase in such cases in the state, officials said.

The state also asked the central government offices in West Bengal to ensure cleanliness along with adequate preventive measures at under-construction projects, including those of the Kolkata Metro, they said.

Strict legal action would be taken against those not following the directions, they added.

Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi chaired a meeting with all district magistrates, the commissioner of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and chief medical officers of health (CMOHs) of all districts, on the direction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, over the rise in dengue cases.

West Bengal has registered over 35,000 dengue cases this year till Monday with over 30 deaths due to the disease.

''Focused intensive cleaning will be taken up at all the hotspots immediately based on the entomological alerts. Special emphasis will be given to the removal of scrap materials, management of construction sites, closed factory premises and vacant lands,'' the state government said in a statement.

''Railways and Metro authorities will be requested to take up proper cleaning activities within their premises along with adequate preventive activities at their construction sites,'' it added.

At the meeting, the chief secretary directed the DMs to convene meetings with councillors of civic bodies in their districts and ensure that all the preventive steps are taken.

''Central government organisations will also be requested to take up intensive cleaning activities within their premises. Cleaning of marketplaces, both in urban and semi-urban areas will be taken up. Legal actions will be initiated against property owners who don't comply with the dengue preventive measures,'' the statement said.

As a part of their precautionary measure, cleaning of marketplaces, both in urban and peri-urban areas will be taken up.

''Special cleanliness drive will be done regularly inside the hospital premises. For proper management of dengue cases, both in private and government medical facilities, regular visits by district observer teams will be ensured. The fever clinics and dengue testing facility will remain operational on a 24x7 basis at the government facilities in affected areas,'' it added. The districts were also asked to carry out special drives in the peri-urban areas for improvement of sanitation and waste management. ''Micro plans will be prepared for long-term improvement of solid and liquid waste management in these areas. To prevent clogging of drainage, awareness generation against the use of single-use plastic will also be done,'' it added. The DMs were also directed by the chief secretary to distribute mosquito nets at high-burden slum and hotspot areas, the statement issued from the state secretariat said. A decision was also taken to conduct an orientation programme for the newly-elected members of the Panchayati Raj Institutions.

''Leaves of all the officials associated with the dengue management programme in the state will remain cancelled till the situation normalises,'' it added.