Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced a massive campaign to tackle vector-borne diseases dengue and chikungunya that will involve the wide participation of people of the capital in preventing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
3-day Campaign in Delhi Against Malaria, Dengue
The initiative has been named ‘10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10 Minute – Har Ravivar, dengue par war’. As a part of the campaign, the government has asked residents of Delhi to take 10 minutes from their schedule every Sunday to clear potential mosquito breeding spots from their homes.
During the launch campaign on Wednesday, Kejriwal said he will start the initiative from his home on September 1. He said, “I will check my home, and so will my ministers, MLAs, officers and the whole of Delhi… There’s positive energy in the city, and people are working with the government. They will make this campaign successful and remove dengue and chikungunya from Delhi.”
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Arvind Kejriwal said that with efforts of his government and participation of people of Delhi, his government has managed to control the spread of monsoon-diseases – dengue and chikungunya in the national capital. He said,
“During the first year of AAP government in Delhi in 2015, there were 15,867 cases of dengue and chikungunya. This was reduced to 2,798 in 2018. There is an 80 percent drop in cases of dengue and chikungunya.”
He further added that in order to prevent the spread of monsoon diseases in the national capital, a number of steps have been taken by his government. He said, “500 fever clinics and a number of mohallas clinics have been set up across Delhi. Nodal officers have been appointed in all the hospitals. Dedicated dengue beds have also been put up in every hospital and private hospitals have been allowed to increase 20 percent capacity for dengue and chikungunya during this season. Dengue control cells have been set up to prevent, generate awareness about dengue and chikungunya. This year we don’t want the figure to increase. We want the figures to drop further so that we can permanently get relief from dengue and chikungunya.”
The Delhi Chief Minister also said that the government will involve municipal corporations, residents’ welfare associations, students and government officials in the campaign.
