BMC clamps down on rain ailments
Upping its ante against the outbreak of water-borne diseases such as gastroenteritis and diarrhoea in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now decided to conduct, among other things, micro-mapping of all the cases detected and take action accordingly.
Upping its ante against the outbreak of water-borne diseases such as gastroenteritis and diarrhoea in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now decided to conduct, among other things, micro-mapping of all the cases detected and take action accordingly.
Accordingly, it has identified four wards, which are worst affected — L, H East, F North and E wards. These areas, which include Byculla, Bandra (East), Khar (East), Santacruz (East), Kurla and Antop Hill, have reported maximum cases of water-borne diseases.
Alarmed by the rise in the number of water-borne ailments, BMC now plans to initiate a joint action drive between the health department, the city’s hydraulic engineer and the encroachment removal department.
With the help of data obtained from the municipal dispensaries as well as the samples collected by the civic body, BMC will focus on the areas where such cases have been reported. Other measures of the programme also include conducting special hawker removal drive in those areas.
Additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said that steps undertaken to contain malaria would be replicated to check water-borne diseases in the city as well. “Micro-mapping of cases helped us control malaria.”
Hydraulic engineer Ramesh Bambale said that all local officials of the water department had been told to take coordinated efforts with local health officials. “We have decided to increase the number of samples collected at the local level. As soon as these tests start reflecting a trend in a particular area, our officials will start work to plug the contamination point.”
The third strategy would deal with food contamination. Deputy municipal commissioner Chandrashekhar Rokde said, “Contamination in water-borne diseases is one major reason why we will be concentrating on illegal stalls selling eatables.”