Bhopal: Spread of Dengue and Chikungunya in posh localities of the city has caught the resident unaware. The slum areas which are considered to be breeding ground of diseases has been spared to an extent this time, as the epidemic has spread its tentacles in the plushiest colonies of the city. The reason being: mosquitoes responsible for the viral diseases thrive in fresh water.
Generally, slums are blamed for any disease spread for poor sanitation and unhygienic condition prevailing there. However, in last few weeks there has been a spurt in Dengue and Chikungunya cases in upmarket areas of the city.
Mayor Alok Sharma has directed BMC officials to visit the city’s zones. There are 19 zones in the state capital and senior officials have been assigned areas to monitor the drive to check spread of these viral diseases. Mayor himself had kicked off drive to inspect stagnant water in posh localities.
The BMC administration on Tuesday had admitted Dengue and Chikungunya as epidemic in city and identified 10 worst affected areas. Ten worst affected colonies include Saket Nagar, Shakti Nagar, Pipaliya, Barkheda Pathani, Piplani, Ayodhya By-pass, Nehru Nagar, Kotra Sultanabad, Dwarka Nagar, and Budhwara. Except
Budhwara, which is congested, all other localities have better sanitation facilities and have fared in cleanliness drive even then they are in grip of the disease. Besides a number of families living in ‘45 Bungalows – one of the plushest localities of the city – have also fallen victim to the diseases.
JP Hospital civil surgeon Dr IK Chug, who himself was victim of the disease, said,“ In fact, mosquito thrive in fresh and stagnant water which is abundant in posh colonies. Aedes mosquitoes – which transmit both dengue and chikungunya – breed in clean water. People here leave water in containers, coolers, flower pots this providing perfect ground for breeding of mosquitoes. This needs to be checked. He people should take proper care to keep their surroundings clean, and ensure to regular disposal of waste. “
BMC Mayor-in-Council (MiC) member Krishna Mohan Soni said, “Actually, mosquito larva survive in fresh water if it is allowed to remain stagnant. So in posh colonies, earthen posts, flowering pots, coolers, and even bushes in garden create conducive atmosphere for their survival. So it has been noticed that more positive cases are being reported from posh colonies. Patients are even coming from slum areas but comparatively, posh colonies are the worst affected in the state capital.”
