Dengue cases climbed to 1,580 today with 68 more patients testing positive in the Capital where MCD’s mosquito breeding checkers today returned to work after a four-day strike following assurances from authorities that their demands will be looked into.
The domestic breeding checkers (DBCs), who were demanding regularisation of their contract jobs, withdrew their strike a day after the MCD issued an ultimatum asking them to join duties by this evening or face sacking.
At least half of the 3,200 DBCs, who undertake door-to-door surveys to check mosquito breeding, had joined the strike causing trouble for civic authorities which were struggling to contain the spread of dengue in the city ahead of the Commonwealth Games next month.
The DBCs today staged a march near the Lieutenant Governor’s residence here and five of their representatives met his officer on special duty Ranjan Mukherjee.
“We conveyed our demands after which the Lieutenant Governor also talked to the MCD commissioner and health officer. We have been given assurances on behalf of the Lieutenant Governor that our demand for regularisation will be looked into. On his assurance, we have decided to withdraw the strike and have rejoined duty,” said Anti-Malaria Karamchari Sangh president Ashok Chaudhary.
The DBCs have been demanding regularisation of jobs for long. In 2008 too, they had observed a 47-day strike on the same demand. The MCD, however, says it does not have the required funds at present to regularise them.
The end of the strike is expected to give a boost to MCD’s ongoing fogging and cleaning drive in the city. The civic body had earlier said it will sack the striking DBCs and appoint new people in their places if they do not rejoin work.
The cases of dengue climbed to 1,580 with 68 more patients testing positive for the vector-borne disease. The city has recorded over 350 dengue cases in the last five days.
There have been four dengue deaths in Delhi this season.
During the same period last year, the number of cases of the vector-borne disease in the city was only 12 while it was 160 and 26 in the corresponding periods in 2008 and 2007.
South Delhi continued to be worst-affected this season recording 260 cases, followed by MCD Central Zone (225) and Civil Lines (188).
