The three municipal corporations of Delhi have come up with innovative ways to create awareness about dengue and chikungunya.
From sticking awareness messages on coolers and police barricades to organising street plays, the civic bodies are doing everything they can to control mosquito breeding and prevent an outbreak this season.
Their latest idea involves putting up giant models of the Aedes aegypti , which is the carrier of dengue and chikungunya virus, at the Civic Centre on Minto Road and at the East Delhi Municipal Corporation headquarters in Patparganj.
Models will also be set up in areas that have seen above normal cases of the diseases in the past few years.
“We want to reach the maximum number of people. These models are eye-catching and will get the attention of the people. While they look at the model they will be given information about the vector-borne diseases,” said Preety Agarwal, Mayor of the North Corporation.
This year, the early outbreak of dengue and chikungunya has set off warning bells among civic body officials who are trying everything to control the spread of the diseases.
From January to July 8 this year, 60 cases of dengue and 110 cases of chikungunya have already been reported. The cases generally start to spike after monsoon, around September.
Helpful signs
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has started putting up information boards on every cooler that is inspected by the Domestic Breeding Checkers (DBCs).
The boards carry messages such as: “Don’t allow water to stagnate inside coolers for more than three days” and “Clean coolers every week and add kerosene to prevent breeding”.
The SDMC and the North Corporation have also roped in the Delhi Police and stuck these information signs on barricades at important junctions.
