The Corporation authorities here have intensified awareness and preventive measures against dengue and have slapped fine on those responsible for proliferation of larvae in residential areas and industrial units.
They undertook cleaning and awareness programmes in all the 48 wards on Tuesday by enlisting the services of volunteers, councillors, Corporation officials, sanitary workers, self-help group members, college and school students and health nurses.
Forty eight teams were formed to cover all the wards in a single day. They camped in the wards from dawn to dusk, cleaned the surroundings and created awareness among people of dengue fever and the importance of clean surroundings.
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A special team led by Corporation Health Officer M. Anitha raided houses in Dindigul town and private companies in SIPCOT industrial estate and slapped fine on those kept water containers open. Fines were slapped on 12 industrial units. A sum of Rs.10,000 was collected as fine.
The team raided construction sites also. The corporation is empowered to stop construction activities if the building owner failed to take measures to control dengue- spreading larvae.
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They have to seal water containers at the work site as larvae thrives in potable water.
The Corporation would cancel building plan approval and take criminal action against the building owner, cautioned corporation officials.
They appealed to the people to follow two instructions — apply bleaching powder in water containers to kill larvae in potable water and dispose of all waste materials such as tyres, plastic cups and bags, coconut shells and other objects in which water tend to stagnate.
The surroundings of houses and industrial units must be kept clean and water stagnation prevented, health officials said.