‘Demolish decrepit buildings to curb malaria’
As a strict precautionary measure to curb the spread of malaria this monsoon, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked other government agencies to demolish their 35 decrepit and abandoned buildings, terming them as ‘the breeding ground for mosquitoes.’
As a part of its anti-malaria preparations, the civic body held a malaria review meeting with 33 different government agencies at the civic headquarters on Thursday. In the meeting, the BMC asked Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) and Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to demolish 35 unoccupied buildings by May 15. The BMC also issued a warning that it would demolish these ‘hazardous to public health’ structures on its own if the concerned authorities failed to take any action. According to the civic officials, these unoccupied buildings were found to be serving as breeding sites for mosquitoes. The BMC has also asked these agencies to undertake other measures like mosquito proofing of water tanks and to ensure that there is no accumulation of water in their premises. Failing to take anti-malaria measures, the BMC has threatened to take legal action against them.
“If any agency doesn’t implement the anti-malaria measures by May 15, then prosecution action will be initiated against them,” said additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar.
Last year paying heed to BMC’s appeals, eight such decrepit buildings were demolished by these agencies in areas like Antop Hill, Dockyard Road.
“There are also National Textile Corporation, railway yards, construction sites, Army and Navy premises where water gets accumulated leading to breeding of mosquitoes. We have asked them to undertake fogging,” said a civic official.
According to the figures available with the civic health department, there were 198 and 145 deaths due to malaria in 2009 and 2010 respectively. However, due to several preventive steps taken by the BMC, the toll came down sharply to 69 and 45 in 2011 and 2012 respectively. There have been around 16,000 malaria cases this year so far.
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