Mata Mansa Devi Navratri fair: Panchkula DC reviews preparedness amid dengue spike

Deputy commissioner (DC) Yash Garg directed the Panchkula MC to carry out regular fogging and cleaning on the Mata Mansa Devi Temple premises as a large number of devotees are expected to visit for a fair

As the festive season of Navratri approaches, the city is gearing up for a fair at the Mata Mansa Devi Temple.

Panchkula municipal corporation (MC) was directed to take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne disease. (HT Photo)

However, the joy has been tempered by the rising number of dengue cases in the region, with 415 reported in Panchkula alone. Deputy commissioner (DC) Yash Garg, who is also the chief administrator of Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board, on Monday chaired a meeting regarding preparedness of the Ashwin Navratri Mela to be held from October 3 to October 12.

Panchkula municipal corporation (MC) was also directed to take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.

Garg directed the MC to carry out regular fogging and cleaning on the temple premises as a large number of devotees are expected to visit. He also added that doctors, an ambulance and para-medical staff must be available 24x7 at the fair site.

As the state has completely banned the use polythene, DC Garg directed officials of Haryana State Pollution Control Board to run a campaign during the fair for ensuring that polythene is not used for prasad and other offerings.

The DC instructed police department to arrange checkpoints at various places for smooth flow of traffic during the fair. He was apprised that 13 checkpoints will be set up at various locations during the fair. The fair ground will be divided into four sectors and one inspector rank officer will be appointed in-charge of each sector. Apart from this, regular patrolling will be done by 24 police parties for maintaining discipline.

DC Garg directed that adequate buses from key points, like Chandigarh railway station, Zirakpur Bus Stand, ISBT-17 and ISBT-43 should be arranged for ferrying devotees to the temple. He directed the public health engineering department to ensure clean drinking water and other public facilities. He said disabled and pregnant women should be given priority for darshan. He also directed that Haryana Shehari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) and the civic body to complete the repair and patch work of roads from Singh Dwar to Mata Mansa Devi temple in their respective jurisdictions as required. He said any kind of encroachment in the temple premises should be removed.

Chandigarh To review dengue preparedness, a meeting under the chairmanship of UT adviser Rajeev Verma was held on Monday. A total of 22 cases have been reported so far in Chandigarh as compared to 454 last year.

A detailed presentation was given to outlining the activities conducted by malaria wing of the health department for dengue prevention and control. Director of health and family welfare laid emphasis upon house-to-house surveys being conducted to identify and eliminate mosquito sources. The health secretary, on the other hand, proposed solutions to address mosquito breeding in permanently locked and vacant houses by coordinating with the house allotment work inspectors in their respective areas.