A rise in mosquito density in a number of neighbourhoods has forced the Chennai Corporation to allocate one malaria worker for every 500 households in the city.
Following a meeting on Tuesday, each of the malaria workers has been provided with a list of addresses for targeted mosquito control operations.
“The malaria workers will shoulder responsibility of mosquito control in each of the houses. If a resident complains about mosquitoes in any of the houses, the malaria worker concerned will be responsible. The worker will have to screen all 500 households in a week,” said an official.
These instructions have been given in the wake of a rise in malaria cases in some zones. Royapuram, with 150 malaria cases and Teynampet with 140 cases in the past 50 days, have become a cause for concern. George Town, Korrukupet and Mylapore have also reported several cases. Though other areas had fewer cases, calls to the helpline 1913 about mosquitoes in these zones, has remained high.
As many as 3,000 malaria workers will have lists of door numbers of 15 lakh households in the city. The Corporation has also asked residents’ associations to talk to the workers concerned to make use of the new system. The workers will remove mosquito breeding sources in any household that reports high mosquito density.
The Corporation will use the services of another 200 malaria workers to prevent breeding of mosquitoes in stormwater drains, canals or other water bodies.
