Chikungunya-Dengue crisis: Clear garbage dumps twice a day, says Najeeb Jung to civic bodies

Jung asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to take strict action against concessionaires responsible for cleaning dhalaos (garbage dumps) in case of poor performance.

New Delhi, Sept 26: Amidst the worst outbreak of dengue and chikungunya in Delhi in recent times, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung today directed the civic bodies to get garbage dumps cleared twice a day and the city administration to take action against private hospitals which deny admission to poor patients. Jung asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to take strict action against concessionaires responsible for cleaning dhalaos (garbage dumps) in case of poor performance. The Lt Governor held a meeting at Raj Niwas to review the issues related to cleanliness in Delhi, keeping in view the occurrence of cases of chikungunya, dengue and malaria. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Health Minister Satyendar Jain and senior officers from agencies concerned.

“All three municipal commissioners and chairman (NDMC) have been directed to ensure that dhalaos are cleared and cleaned twice a day, starting tomorrow. “Each supervisor of dhalao must submit a written report of compliance of cleaning of dhalaos twice daily to the municipal commissioner,” the LG’s office said in a statement. The AAP government and the BJP-ruled MCDs have been blaming each other for not maintaining cleanliness in the national capital. Jung also directed all deputy commissioners (revenue) to step up efforts and prepare a daily roster of inspections to be personally undertaken by them and their sub-divisional magistrates and additional district magistrates.

Daily reports of the visits undertaken are required to be submitted to the Divisional Commissioner with a copy to the Lt Governor’s office. Over 3,700 chikungunya cases have been reported in Delhi till September 24 and the disease has caused 15 deaths so far, while dengue has claimed 19 lives in the capital. All three MCD commissioners and NDMS chairman were asked to intensify fogging and cleaning operations in areas which are more vulnerable and have been impacted by breeding of mosquito larvae, according to the statement.(ALSO READ: Chikungunya-Dengue crisis: Arvind Kejriwal starts fogging drive, seeks joint effort by parties)

“All deputy commissioners were also directed to make regular visits to private hospitals in their districts to ensure that EWS quota is followed strictly and no poor patient is turned away. Strict action should be initiated if private hospitals are found faulting on strict adherence to the EWS quota,” the LG’s office said. Officials of NDMC and MCD briefed the Lt Governor about the prevailing situation and the efforts made by the civic bodies to tackle the outbreak of the vector-borne diseases. They told him that the number of chikungunya and dengue came down during the last week.