Vinit Wahi / New Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced Delhi government’s mega campaign titled 10 Hafte, 10 Baje 10 minute Har Ravivar, Dengue Par War to contain Dengue and Chikungunya from Sunday, 1st September onwards for next 10 consecutive weeks.
The Chief Minister said the collective efforts of the government and people of Delhi have seen successful results during the last three years, in which there has been a sharp decline in the cases of vector borne diseases in Delhi.
The Chief Minister said all concerned – Medical fraternity, respective departments, senior officers, RWAs, government and all others have made efforts to control vector borne diseases in Delhi and this year the number has to be brought down further.
To achieve this, he announced that he will begin this campaign from his own house on Sunday and will check that there is no stagnant clean water in any of the sources where mosquitoes can breed.
“If we are not careful, mosquitoes lay eggs in clean stagnant water, which become mosquitoes within 8 -10 days. If we check all sources of stagnant water at our homes, we can prevent the outbreak of Dengue and Chikungunya. Every Sunday, we need to ensure that flower pots, coolers and other places are free of stagnant water, by checking them and if required please add preventives.”
The campaign will continue for 10 weeks – throughout the season prone to these diseases. “We are asking for just 100 minutes from the people of Delhi that they can definitely afford to save Delhi from Dengue and Chikungunya”, he said.
India is among the 100 countries highly affected by Dengue and Chikungunya. “If we look at the national level, there was an increase of 300% in the cases of Dengue and Chikungunya between 2009 and 2017. The number of cases of Dengue and Chikungunya increased to 188401 in 2017 from 60000 in 2009. The largest number of deaths happened in 2017.
But in Delhi, the trend was reverse as the outbreak of Dengue and Chikungunya was contained through the efforts of the government and the participation of people. In 2015 – the first year of our government, 15867 cases were reported, but in 2018 it was reduced to 2798. Within three years Delhi witnessed 80% decrease in the cases of Dengue and Chikungunya. In 2015, there were 60 deaths reported due to Dengue and Chikungunya and in 2018 only four,” the Chief Minister said.