Dengue, malaria tally on the rise, but fogging still sporadic, limited
At least 28 dengue, 48 scrub typhus and 22 malaria cases were reported at Jaipur’s SMS Hospital in August alone
The stink from the garbage dumped behind Mahendra Singh’s house in the Walled City often becomes unbearable to put up with. But what bothers the resident of Sanjay Circle most are the mosquitoes and flies that hover over the waste pile.
Vector-borne diseases have seen a spike over the last month in the state capital. The situation has worsened due to sporadic or complete lack of fogging in several parts of the city. At least 28 dengue, 48 scrub typhus and 22 malaria cases were reported at the government-run SMS Hospital in August. Health officials fear that the number could be much higher.
“Three of my family members are suffering from viral infections and seasonal diseases. One of them was diagnosed with malaria and has been admitted to a hospital. The JMC never conducts fogging in the area and so far we have not even seen any official from the civic body visit our locality,” Singh told HT on Monday.
Fogging machines, run on diesel or petrol, are used to spray a chemical pyrethrum that creates a fog-like mass and eliminates mosquitoes and other insects.
According to the residents of the old city areas, the civic body staff also does not pick up garbage regularly. Garbage heaps are spotted lying near drains or on roadsides for days – an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“Our house is located on the main road in Pradhan Nagar locality, but till now we haven’t seen the authorities carry out fogging in the area even once. More so, garbage is not lifted from the roadside,” said Malviya Nagar resident Nita Paltnitkar.
Jhotwara-resident Abdul Ayub said things were little different in their part of the city. “The JMC never does fogging in our area and things have been going on this way for a long time. We have learnt that when it comes to the civic body, there’s nothing to expect,” he said.
However the JMC claims fogging was done regularly in different areas of the city from April 1. “We are regularly conducting fogging in all the areas in city. We have also ordered four more fogging machines which will arrive soon. Efforts are on to curb the menace of seasonal disease,” said Amitabh Kaushik, deputy commissioner (health) JMC. The civic body at present has just four fogging machines.