MCD stops weekly dengue data, last report on August 7

The civic body, meanwhile, said that there was no particular reason why the report was not being released

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has stopped releasing its weekly update on the number of cases of mosquito-borne diseases in the Capital. The civic body used to release the port every Monday, but the last update was on August 7, for weekly cycle ending on August 5.

While the dengue outbreak in Delhi has hit the national headlines, little attention has been given to equally worrying data from states such as Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Between them they account for almost half of India’s 22,079 dengue cases till September 13, the last day till when country-wide data is available. (Shutterstock Photo)

The move to stop the release of the report is significant as practice continued uninterrupted even during the pandemic.

The civic body, meanwhile, said that there was no particular reason why the report was not being released. “There is no reason. It will be shared whenever available. Presently, the focus is on putting in best efforts to secure Delhi against vector borne disease which the Corporation has been doing successfully,” an MCD spokesperson said.

However, a senior official, requesting anonymity, said that the move is aimed at preventing any panic ahead of G20 Summit meetings, scheduled for the second week of September.

“We have been taking all precautionary measures to control mosquito breeding and spreading of vector borne diseases,” the official said, adding that the dengue situation in the city is under control.

MCD has claimed that waterlogging and flooding due to heavy rainfall in July caused an spike in mosquito breeding.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi on August 1 had said that MCD’s public health department had successfully carried out a trial run for the use of drones to sprinkling anti-mosquito larvicides in Usmanpur, and that the drive would be carried out in the city soon. However, no such drives were launched afterwards.

To control mosquito breeding along the railway tracks, Oberoi on Friday had launched the “Mosquito Terminator” train from platform number 1 of New Delhi Railway Station. The train will cover areas along the railway tracks till September 23 and will also sanitise water bodies along the tracks from New Delhi Railway Station, covering Hazrat Niazamuddin, Lajpat Nagar, Sewa Nagar, Lodi Colony, Safdarjung, Patel Nagar.