Hospitals fined for mosquito breeding

AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, RML Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital were issued challans after several pockets on the hospitals’ premises were found to be breeding ground of mosquitoes by the New Delhi Municipal Council.

The Ministries of Finance and Home Affairs, Bihar Bhawan, Sikkim Bhawan and Uttarakhand Bhawan have been issued notices by the council for mosquitogenic conditions on their premises.

The NDMC has found heavy mosquito-breeding conditions in embassies of Ghana, Ethiopia, Singapore, Malaysia, Bhutan, Ethiopia and  the Czech Republic.

However, the council does not have the permission to  conduct checks on these premises.
The NDMC was allowed to check the premises for mosquito-breeding sources after cases of dengue surfaced from a few embassies.

Among the hospitals, the council has issued three challans to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, three to Safdarjung, two to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and one to Lady Hardinge Hospital.

The challans have been issued from January 1 till date. “In AIIMS, the spots of mosquito breeding were identified near canteen and buildings under construction. In Safdarjung Hospital, one challan was first issued to the civil engineer. Later, challans were issued to the medical superintendent after the godown where junk items were stored was found breeding mosquitoes heavily,” said a senior inspector, Health Department, Public Health, NDMC.

Over 150 cases of dengue were reported in the capital last week taking the total cases to 277 this season. According to officials, there is still little sensitivity even in the VIP zones in eliminating breeding source of mosquitoes.

A challan is issued when the council sees no improvement in the hygiene condition despite issuing notices to the institutions. It is the last resort of taking action.

The council has also issued a challan to Mount Carmel School, the National Building Construction Corporation Limited and India Islamic Cultural Centre, among others. In total, the council has 115 challans this season for mosquito breeding inside institutions and households and served 2,700 notices.

Vulnerable spots

The most vulnerable spots of breeding grounds of mosquitoes were found to be coolers and overhead tankers during raids, according to inspectors.

“Residents have to cooperate with the officials and only then, we can move towards zero tolerance towards vector-borne diseases. It has happened several times that top officials do not cooperate with inspection drives of the council. Everybody has to take responsibility for eradicating mosquito breeding grounds,” said Dr R N Singh, Chief Medical Officer, Public Health, NDMC.