Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil S. on Monday gave a three-day deadline to educational institutions in the city to “hunt and destroy” larvae of dengue causing mosquito breeding in fresh water stagnant on the premises of hostels, schools and colleges.
Addressing a meeting of principals and other heads of schools and colleges at the Town Hall, Mr. Senthil said that dengue has spread to the “critical mass level” in the city. The need of the hour is source reduction.
He said that a team of district administration will specifically visit schools, colleges and hostels after three days to inspect whether water stagnant on their premises has been cleared. Penal action will be taken if the institutions fail to act. Mr. Senthil asked educational institutions to put a team in place specifically to destroy the larvae of dengue mosquito. The team should go around the buildings and destroy the larvae.
“We have already lost three lives to dengue. We don’t want to lose any more. Children and senior citizens with health complications are prone to dengue,” he said.
The Deputy Commissioner said that educational institutions should ask students to fully cover their bodies to protect themselves from mosquito bite. Students should be made to apply coconut oil or neem oil on the exposed body parts as a precaution to avoid mosquito bite.
He also suggested to the heads of the institutions to have mosquito repellents on their premieses to keep mosquitoes away.
“Earlier, every house adopted the traditional way of spreading smoke to keep mosquitoes away. This practice has waned over the years. Do what best suits you to keep mosquitoes away,” he said.
Mr. Senthil said that larvae should be “hunted and killed” to prevent the spread of dengue. Students are the best ambassadors to create awareness on dengue control measures in their houses. Hence, they should be educated properly.
The Deputy Commissioner asked the heads of the institutions to contact Mangaluru City Corporation in case if they needed help to clear stagnant water near their buildings.
Commissioner of the corporation Mohammed Nazir said that people can call helpline — Ph: 2220306 and 2220309.
A teacher told the meeting that plastic cups and glasses have been thrown on railway track near Pandeshwar giving scope for breeding of mosquito. Another teacher said that water is stagnant in some pits on the ground near the government school in Kasba Bengre.
