The Chennai Corporation has identified 46 wards where dengue and malaria were reported in the past year. These localities will be subjected to intense mosquito control activities.
The addresses where cases of dengue and malaria were reported have been traced and teams of health department officials will visit houses within a 500-metre radius of such addresses.
Houses with mosquito breeding grounds in 46 wards, covering localities such as Vyasarpadi, Tiruvottiyur, Washermenpet, Broadway, Mannadi, Royapuram, Kondithope, Ambattur, Kilpauk, Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Nungambakkam, Mylapore, Saligramam, Kodambakkam, Vadapalani, K.K.Nagar West, Thiruvanmiyur, Adyar and Gandhi Nagar, will soon receive a notice from the Chennai Corporation under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act.
The 46 divisions that face risk of dengue/malaria are wards 8, 9, 11, 13, 39, 40, 43, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 66, 68, 76, 78, 90, 91, 98, 105, 108, 110, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 123, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 138, 139, 175 and 181.
“The Corporation began using the services of 12 malaria workers last week. We have asked for 20 additional workers. This is the time when mosquito density rises. So we have to be careful,” said M. Dhanaramesh, councillor of ward 9.
This year, the Chennai Corporation has assigned additional tasks to the private workers deployed to cope with rising mosquito densities from July to October.
In addition to fogging, the workers will desilt drains, clear breeding sources and screen overhead tanks in households.
The civic body has already spent crores on cleaning waterways in a bid to control mosquito breeding this year.
The initiative, which began on March 18, led to a reduction in mosquito density, according to an official. However, the intermittent rains have led to a rise in mosquito breeding grounds and mosquito density.
The civic body will create awareness among residents in the 46 wards on the risks posed by breeding sources in neighbourhoods where dengue or malaria have been reported earlier.
