Six buildings near Vikasa School at Ponnagaram here were sealed by Madurai Corporation officials on Saturday for building plan violations, and in one of the buildings the officials detected large-scale breeding of dengue-causing aedes mosquito.
The authorities inspected the buildings near the school after the death of a student due to dengue on September 17 and reports about some more students catching fever a few days back.
Corporation Commissioner R. Nanthagopal led a team of Town Planning officials to inspect buildings adjoining Vikasa School at Vignesh Avenue-Sivanandam Salai in ward number 13.
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While the inspection team noticed several building plan violations, aedes mosquito breeding pockets were found in the cellar of one of the buildings, which posed a threat to public health, M. Rakkappan, Chief Town Planning Officer, said.
“We started looking for violations from the public health point of view too. Unchecked mosquito breeding was going on there and the action was taken in the interest of the students of the school,” he told The Hindu after the inspection.
Corporation health officials and sanitary workers inspected the premises and destroyed the mosquito larvae.
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The sealed buildings had been constructed deviating from the original plans approved by the Corporation in terms of constructed area and mandatory open space.
According to the officials, one building had unapproved basement and another a cellar room, while there were open space violations in the other buildings.
Inspection
Meanwhile, Mr.Nanthagopal on Saturday inspected O.C.P.M. Girls’ Higher Secondary School at Narimedu to check dengue fever prevention works.
Sanitation and cleaning works have been taken up on a war-footing by the Corporation in various schools and colleges to prevent mosquito breeding, according to a press release from the Corporation. The Commissioner instructed schools to clean water tanks on the campus once a week.