City corporations destroy Aedes larvae, fine establishments in Dhaka
The authorities of the two city corporations in Dhaka destroyed Aedes larvae and fined establishments for having mosquito larvae in their premises in special drives to address the deteriorating dengue situation in the capital.
The Dhaka North City Corporation initiated a month-long special mosquito control programme starting on Saturday.
As part of this programme, the North City Corporation has started mosquito control activities in 10 zones.
During the first day of the drive, the city corporation collected a total fine of Tk14.85 lakh in 17 cases filed against establishments and institutions where larvae were found.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka South City Corporation conducted a three-day crash programme in 30 of its at-risk wards last week. The city corporation will once again conduct a three-day special anti-mosquito crash programme in these areas from Sunday (9 July).
According to the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS), so far this year, 12,118 people have been admitted to different hospitals in the country due to dengue. Among the patients, 8,574 are from the capital. Out of the 67 people who died of dengue this year in the country till Saturday, 51 died in different hospitals in Dhaka.
According to officials from the Dhaka North City Corporation, various departments, including the health department, waste management department, engineering department, and revenue department, are actively engaged in the field to tackle the ongoing dengue situation.
On Saturday morning, the North City Corporation Mayor Md Atiqul Islam, made an unannounced visit to the Mohammadpur area to monitor anti-dengue drives.
During his visit, he inspected the basements of several high-rise buildings located in Japan Garden City. He discovered a significant presence of Aedes mosquito larvae in the accumulated water within the basements.
"The city corporation will not clean the water accumulated inside the buildings. Our employees cannot enter these buildings. The building owner has to take the responsibility of keeping the environment inside the building clean," he said.
He further said, "I urge the leaders of residential areas and representatives of society to maintain cleanliness in their respective areas. With everyone's cooperation, we can effectively control dengue."
Dhaka North City Corporation Public Relations Officer Makbul Hossain told TBS that mosquito larvae were found in about 80% of the houses raided in Mohammadpur. City corporation officials fined several individuals for finding mosquito larvae in raids in other areas as well.
Dhaka North City officials said they imposed a fine of Tk5 lakh on the capital's Japan Garden City, Tk5 lakh on an under-construction building in PC Culture Housing and Tk1.5 lakh on three other buildings.
Also, a fine of Tk2 lakh was imposed in two cases due to the presence of Aedes mosquito larvae in two buildings in Uttara sector 4, 6 and 8, and Tk50,000 in two cases in the Noor Chala area. A fine of Tk85,000 was collected in 8 cases under the jurisdiction of zone-6.
Meanwhile, spokesperson and public relations officer of the Dhaka South City Corporation Abu Nasher told TBS that regular mosquito eradication activities are going on vigorously in all areas under their jurisdiction.
The Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS), in its pre-monsoon survey, found the highest mosquito density in five years in Dhaka city areas amid allegations of failure to contain Aedes mosquito breeding grounds against the city authorities.
In the pre-monsoon Aedes Survey-2023, the DGHS found larvae of Aedes mosquitoes in 43.53% of multi-story buildings, 21.31% of independent houses and 18.21% of construction sites.