Mosquitoes still breeding around Games Village

With just 14 days left for the Commonwealth Games to begin, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials on Friday found fresh mosquito larvae breeding at various places in the Games Village. To make matters worse, officials say they are facing difficulty in carrying out fogging and spraying in some parts of the village.

With just 14 days left for the Commonwealth Games to begin, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials on Friday found fresh mosquito larvae breeding at various places in the Games Village. To make matters worse, officials say they are facing difficulty in carrying out fogging and spraying in some parts of the village.

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“There are a number of ducts through which cables and wires pass. These ducts are covered by mesh, which hinders the penetration of mosquito repellents, causing pockets of mosquito breeding,” said a senior MCD official.

“It is a tricky situation as mosquito breeding is continuing unabated in the area and more than 7,000 Games participants and officials are expected to stay here,” he said.

This is not the first time that officials have had to issue challans to the organisers.

Meanwhile, the dengue toll in the city continued to mount, with 71 more people testing positive for the vector-born disease on Saturday. Delhi has so far reported 2,224 cases, with five dengue deaths. During the same period last year, the number of cases of the disease in the city numbered just 21. In the corresponding periods in 2007 and 2008, it was 369 and 75, respectively.

South Delhi continued to be worst affected area of the city this monsoon, recording 344 dengue cases, followed by Civil Lines Zone (319), Central Zone (278) and Rohini (253).

“The dengue cases will start showing a decline once the monsoon ends. While we are carrying out fogging exercises in open areas and taking anti-larval measures on the Yamuna, nothing seems to be enough because of the continuing rains,” said Dr. N.K. Yadav, Municipal Health Officer, MCD.