Arvind Kejriwal launches fogging campaign

All city streets will sprayed with anti-mosquito pesticide on alternate days during the month-long campaign

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday kicked off the government’s special fogging campaign from his residence at Flag Staff Road.

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with insecticide sprayers after flagging off the Delhi government’s month-long fogging drive from his residence at Flag Staff Road in New Delhi, on Thursday. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

All city streets will sprayed with anti-mosquito pesticide on alternate days during the month-long campaign. Delhi is in the grip of dengue and chikungunya both caused by mosquitoes.

“Around 150-200 fogging machine have been launched, the rest will start working in two days,” said Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain.

“Fogging will be carried out in each assembly constituency with 8-10 machines between 7am and 11am and 4pm and 7pm,” said Jain.

This fogging drive will be in addition to the one being conducted by the municipal bodies.

“We are not stopping the MCDs or NDMC from doing whatever they are doing,” said Jain.

“This will be in addition to that. They were unable to control mosquito breeding, therefore we have now taken it upon ourselves. We have received complaints that fogging was not being done properly, otherwise the mosquito population would have been brought under control,” the minister said.

“On Sunday, when the CM came back (from Bangalore), he called me and said that if the MCDs weren’t able to do their job, the government should have. He ordered me to get it done even though it is not the job of the government,” said Jain, who also holds the public works department (PWD) portfolio.

The fogging machines have been hired from a “professional company”, a government official said. The staff has been diverted from all maintenance departments under the PWD.