A mass campaign to tackle the mosquito menace in the city will soon begin, spearheaded by the Chennai Corporation. On Saturday, the civic body conducted programmes in several parks, to create awareness about the menace and means to tackle it.
The programme included puppet shows. “We understood the significance of keeping overhead tanks and sumps closed to ensure they do not become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. This was shown through the puppet show,” said P. Loganathan, a resident of Egmore.
Children at the parks also watched the puppets tell them what to do on Sunday. The shows are part of a new strategy to deal with the mosquito menace during the rains, as a large number of dengue cases were reported last year during the monsoon season.
This week, all Corporation officials have been instructed to intensify penal action against owners of properties that are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Residents who fail to deal with the problem within seven days will have to pay a fine of Rs. 50 and an additional amount of Rs. 10 per day. Before penal action is intensified however, the civic body will conduct an awareness drive in all its 15 zones.
As part of the campaign, hundreds of members of residents’ associations along with Corporation employees will participate in rallies across the city on Sunday. “Residents have been asked to report breeding grounds in their neighbourhoods to health department officials. But the Corporation also has to keep its areas clean. Public places such as markets, public conveniences and parks are not clean in some areas,” said G. Mani, one of the residents watching a puppet show at May Day Park.
On Sunday, health department workers and volunteers will also teach residents to take precautionary measures against dengue and explain the different types of diseases spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Symptoms such as high fever, headache, body ache, rashes and low white blood cell count will be explained to residents, an official said.
