Who will make Ludhiana free of vector-borne diseases? Despite large number of cases, authorities fail to take timely measures to curb spread

Ludhiana always has been a hotspot when it comes to vector-borne diseases. Every year, a large number of cases are reported from here but the questions that remained unaddressed are why no steps are being taken to curb the spread beforehand, why action is taken only after their spread and why mosquitos are breeding so much in the city and who is responsible behind the spread of these diseases — the Municipal Corporation, Health Department or people themselves.

In Ludhiana district, 203 dengue cases have been reported this year so far, of which 120 are from urban and 83 from rural areas.

Stagnant water can be seen in various parts of the city where mosquitoe larvae breed and broken roads is one of the major reason for the same and besides, larvae were also found in trash cans, old tyres, plants and flowerpots, birdbaths, pools, trays of refrigerators, etc. The Municipal Corporation and Health Department need to work in unison to control breeding of mosquitoes on time.

City residents have questioned the MC’s similar approach every year and asked them whether intensive fogging was supposed to be done at the time of mosquitoe breeding or when the people are already complaining about the spread of vector-borne diseases.

“The MC should carry out fogging in particular months when mosquitoes breed but contrary to that they intensify the drive when the diseases spread. It seems the department wait for their spread to start fogging,” said Harinder Singh, a resident of Rishi Nagar.

Medical officer of the MC Vipul Malhotra said earlier, fogging was done once a day but now it was being done twice, in the morning and evening. There are 12 machines to cover the city.

He said the civic body carries out all necessary steps but the people also need to understand their responsibility and keep their surroundings clean. They should not let water get stagnant in and around their houses, change water in pots and coolers every week. “We need active co-operation from the people to control vector-borne diseases. The department alone will not be able to control the situation, the people need to extend a helping hand,” he said.

The MC is responsible for carrying out fogging in urban areas but the responsibility for fogging in rural areas has not been fixed on any official. Many panchayats do not even have machines to carry out fogging in areas under their jurisdiction.

A farmer, Ranjeet Singh, from Neowal village said: “My house is located in fields. I can see mosquitoes around the fields. Nobody ever came to the place for fogging.”

On the other hand, the Health Department is checking breeding of mosquitoes in various parts of the city and till now, larvae had been found at 3,779 houses and 4,227 containers. A total of 1,501 persons had been fined and the MC has issued a challan against 1,020.

District epidemiologist Sheetal Narang said the Health Department had intensified efforts to control the spread of vector-borne diseases. There were 18 teams in the city and 230 in rural areas. The teams include multipurpose healthcare workers, auxiliary nurses and ASHA workers, who conduct breeding checks and destroy mosquito larvae. Fifty breeding checkers had been deployed in both urban and rural areas to monitor mosquito breeding and raise awareness.

As part of the prevention efforts, every Friday is observed as Dry Day during which residents are encouraged to eliminate stagnant water from vases, flowerpots and other containers to break the mosquito-breeding cycle. The teams from the Health Department survey houses, especially in hotspots, bus stands, junkyards, tyre markets, hospitals, schools, colleges and government and semi-government offices as well. Surprisingly, in September dengue larvae were found at the Civil Hospital also.

Satbir Singh, a resident of Jammu Colony, said officials come every year for checking and if larvae were found, they impose fine. “But isn’t it the duty of the department to do fogging on time and make surroundings free of mosquitoes. “Providing basic and clean surroundings and sanitary conditions is the duty of the government. We are also paying taxes to it,” he said.

Reasons behind spread

Dengue cases are increasing due to favourable mosquito-breeding conditions, high density of population, urbanisation and climate change. Stagnant water create ideal habitats for mosquitoes.

21 malaria cases so far

Though 21 confirmed cases of malaria this year so far were more than 18 malaria patients reported during the corresponding period last year, the single case of chikungunya was less than two such cases detected in the district last year.