Amid spiralling cases of dengue and chikungunya in the national capital, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain today lashed out at the BJP-ruled municipal corporations, alleging they were “doing nothing” either for combating vector-borne diseases or for cleaning up the city.
“MCD has become the den of BJP people who do nothing when it comes to sanitation or controlling vector-borne diseases in the city,” Jain alleged, adding, “people of Delhi should dump them for their inaction”.
Chikungunya cases in Delhi have shot up to 432, a massive rise in the figure released by civic authorities, who had reported just 20 cases till last week.
According to a municipal report released yesterday, 432 cases of chikungunya have been diagnosed in the national capital till August 27. Safdarjung Hospital had reported nearly 250 cases till 29 August.
Meanwhile, 487 cases of dengue have so far been reported in the national capital this season, with 368 of them being recorded in August.
The outbreak situation has often triggered a war of words between the AAP government and the BJP-ruled civic bodies.
“People should call on helplines of the MCD and tell them about the bad sanitation conditions in their areas. The corporations have turned the city into a garbage dump,” he said.
“It is MCD’s job to carry out cleaning and fogging, and taking preventive measures, which they are not doing at all,” Jain told reporters.
Instead of doing their work and check mosquito breeding, the “BJP-ruled corporations” only “indulge in politics”, the AAP leader alleged.
He said hospitals run by the Delhi government were fully prepared to tackle the menace of chikungunya and dengue.
“We have 10,000 beds and the number of fever clinics has been increased from 55 last year to 355. People should not panic,” he said.
North Delhi Mayor Sanjeev Nayyar, however, denied the charge and said, North Delhi Municipal Corporation has been taking preventing measures to combat the outbreak of vector-borne diseases.
“We have distributed about 1.5 lakh special nets to people, besides carrying out anti-larval exercises. Fogging cannot be done right now, as there are some WHO norms which restrict it,” he said.
