More than hospitals and luxury hotels, it is the President’s Estate in the heart of Delhi that is turning out to be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Over the past six months, the offices and quarters on the estate have been slapped with as many as 68 notices by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
NDMC officials said there had been a spike in the number of mosquito larvae in the last two months. “Teams have been formed to inspect the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises,” said a senior official.
Last year, the civic body had issued over 125 notices to the President’s Estate after “heavy” mosquito-breeding was found across the campus.
Crackdown
So far, the civic body has issued a total of 3,762 dengue-related notices and 172 challans.
Explaining the method of operation, another official said, “Our teams also include members from the sanitation and horticulture units at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Besides, we have officials from the civil engineering unit under the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and personnel of the malaria unit of the NDMC health department.”
According to municipal reports, at least 171 cases of dengue have been reported this season in Delhi, with 52 of these being recorded in the first week of August. The vector-borne disease has claimed two lives so far this season. As the NDMC does not have the authority to issue challans or notices to embassies, it has issued advisories to more than 50 embassies that fall in its area urging them to be active in controlling mosquito-breeding.
