MC ups fogging after rise in dengue cases

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 24

With cases of dengue rising in the city, the Municipal Corporation has increased fogging in the city. Officials of the health wing of the Municipal Corporation have revised the roster of fogging in the wards. Now, the fogging teams start working in two shifts and cover eight wards daily. Earlier, they used to conduct fogging in only four MC wards on a daily basis.

Officials of the Municipal Corporation admit that they are ill-equipped and do not have sufficient mechanism for fogging. The health wing has only four fogging machines for the 85 wards of the city.

An MC ward gets the fogging after 21 days due to the inadequate number of machines. Now, employees are working in double shift and conduct fogging in the same locality after 11 days.

Experts claim 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 Indra Colony, Majitha Road, Mustfabaad, Gumtala, and several colonies on the Batala road claim that no fogging has been conducted in their areas so far.

Dr Ajay Kawar, Municipal Health Officer, said, “Our teams are working in double shift from morning to evening. They intimate the area councillor of the respective area while conducting fogging. We need more machines for fogging. At least, 10 machines are required to conduct fogging every week.”