NEW DELHI: With the mercury falling, the municipal corporations have directed their staff to minimise fogging and concentrate on spraying at vulnerable areas for dengue and malaria cases.
They are also declining demands of institutions and offices to carry out fogging drives to avoid inconvenience to people facing respiratory problems in the winter. “Initially, due to increasing pollution levels and now with the changing weather, we have asked the inspectors to minimise or stop fogging. However, our drives to check breeding of mosquitoes through domestic breeding checkers are continuing,” said a South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) official.
The vulnerable areas include unauthorised colonies, residential areas/villages close to waterbodies and places from where several cases of vector-borne diseases have been reported, the official added.
The number of dengue cases have started coming down with the fall in temperature. In the first week of December, 660 cases were reported in the city, while according to a joint report issued by SDMC on Monday, 285 new cases were reported last week.
The corporations are also in touch with several government departments for regular checking. “Rather than in open or public places, we are finding more breeding in residential areas, especially in an around feng shui and other indoor plants due to stagnant water. Breeding is also found on terraces and in basements of houses; so we request residents to be more alert and take precautionary measures,” said the official.
