Ghaziabad health department identifies 52 dengue prone areas
The district health department on Tuesday identified 52 localities that are likely to be affected by dengue in the upcoming monsoon season
The district health department on Tuesday identified 52 localities that are likely to be affected by dengue in the upcoming monsoon season. Officials said that they are laying stress on “source reduction” strategy to check the spread of the disease across Ghaziabad district.
According to official figures, Ghaziabad recorded the maximum number of dengue cases in the year 2013, when 1,622 people were affected by the vector-borne disease. Incidentally, the second highest cases were reported last year during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic when 1,232 people were affected.
“The department is gearing up to tackle the dengue menace and this year we have planned to start preventive exercises early, so that cases can be controlled. We have identified 52 different localities which have a presence of low-lying areas and also get affected by waterlogging during the monsoon season,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, district surveillance officer.
According to officials, the dengue prone localities include pockets of Crossings Republik/Bheem Nagar (45 cases in 2021), Indirapuram (69 cases), Vaishali (21), Harsaon (16), Govindpuram (62), Raj Nagar Extension (30), Karhera (20) and Arthala (17), among others.
“We have also started with a “source reduction” strategy and are holding meetings with all stakeholders, including residents’ welfare associations (RWAs). We want to make sure that stagnant water does not accumulate in water coolers, pots, old tyres and other similar items in households. We are also devising a fogging/anti-larvae spray schedule along with the municipal corporation,” Dr Gupta added.
Residents are of the opinion that the corporation must ensure that waterlogging does not take place in low-lying areas with the onset of the monsoon.
“Last year, there was a prolonged spell of rain which resulted in frequent waterlogging and this majorly resulted in the high number of dengue cases. Further, the health department should survey the households and take strict action if they find stagnant water. Curbing the spread of dengue is a collective effort and all of us have to be careful,” said Akash Vashishtha, a Ghaziabad-based environmentalist.
The office-bearers of the RWAs said that they are also taking measures to check dengue. “We know that the corporation has limited resources. So, we have purchased our own fogging/spraying machines. We hand over anti-larvae medicine to the corporation staff and they spray it on the drains. We adopted this method last year and that is why Kaushambi township is not in the list of dengue prone localities,” said VK Mittal, a resident of Kaushambi.
