Amritsar residents debunk Municipal Corporation’s claim of regular fogging

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 14

Though the Municipal Corporation (MC) has insufficient infrastructure for fogging, teams have started working in two shifts and are covering 12 wards daily, the MC officials claimed.

They also claimed that now each MC ward gets fogging done after seven days. However, contrary to the claims of the MC, residents of several localities said they haven’t witnessed fogging in their respective areas.

Vikrant Kumar, a resident of Indira Colony said: "The Municipal Corporation conducts fogging on the main road. Dengue patients are increasing in densely populated areas. Most of the times, the MC vehicles ignore streets."

The MC health wing has only six jeep-mounted fogging machines for 85 wards in the city. Apart from this, they have six hand-held machines, which they mount on the scooter to make the process fast.

Sandip Rishi, Additional Commissioner, MC, said: “After the rise in dengue cases, we have been conducting fogging in every ward after seven days. Now, employees are working in double shifts and conducting fogging in the same locality after seven days. The infrastructure is sufficient. We require more hand-held machines and the number of jeep-mounted machines is adequate. We will regulate it soon.”

Experts claimed that fogging should be conducted every week to curb the breeding of dengue larvae and mosquitoes.

There are several slums and villages on the periphery, which witnesses more dengue cases than posh areas. Residents of Indira Colony, Majitha Road, Ghanupur Kalle, Mustfabaad, Islamabad, Gumtala and several colonies on the Batala road claim that no fogging has been conducted in their areas so far. Even the localities on the outer bypass area are deprived of fogging.

“The Health Department has been identifying hotspots and they are in touch with our health wing officials. We have spared a machine to conduct fogging at hotspots on a priority. Residents can contact us on the toll free numbers of the MC,” said Sandip Rishi.

NGO leads from the front

In the absence of proper fogging by the Municipal Corporation (MC), a local NGO has been conducting fogging in slums and periphery areas of the city. NGO Jai Ho Club, led by Vicky Dutta, has been conducting fogging for the last four years in slums. Dutta claimed that the NGO conducts fogging in those areas where dengue cases were reported. “Generally, the MC conducts fogging on main roads, but we visit the interior streets with small machines. Dengue prone areas, especially slums, are our priority. We have conducted fogging in the walled city areas,” said Dutta.

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