NDMC will engage students for mosquito control measures

The officials said students would be trained so that they can work as “nodal agents” and make people aware about vector-borne diseases.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will engage students from all of its schools to spread awareness to prevent mosquito breeding in localities under its jurisdiction. The move is part of the civic body’s “intensive” campaign against ‘mosquito breeding and its hazards’.

NDMC officials said cases of mosquito breeding have increased during the monsoon and so the civic agency was taking steps other than anti-larva measures and fogging to prevent mosquito breeding. (FILE)

The officials said students would be trained so that they can work as “nodal agents” and make people aware about vector-borne diseases. There are 45 schools run by the NDMC in the city and over 30,000 children study at these schools.

The NDMC officials said cases of mosquito breeding have increased during the monsoon and so the civic agency was taking steps other than anti-larva measures and fogging to prevent mosquito breeding.

“Special classes will be provided to students to sensitise them about mosquito menace and vector-borne diseases. These students will reach out to people and also take out rallies to educate people about mosquito menace. If students know the hazards of mosquito breeding, they can stop activities in their home that lead to larva breeding,” a senior NDMC official said.

He said school teachers and principals would also be imparted training. Every school will have a ‘nodal officer’ to check mosquito breeding on the premises and also supervise the awareness programme.

“There will be 300 nodal agents in the programme of whom 200 will be students,” the official said.

The training of school teachers and principals will start from August 27. Last week, NDMC’s health department had convened an awareness session for the engineers on the issue.

The NDMC officials said the municipality had intensified its anti-larva drive and fogging drive. The officials said they are conducting inspections of residential areas, government and private buildings and parks to eliminate mosquitoes.

“Nearly 1,740 notices were issued for mosquito breeding by the NDMC and 34 fines were imposed till last week,” the official said.