NEW DELHI: With 34 people testing positive for Dengue on Wednesday, the toll touched 1,546 in the capital. A maximum of 580 cases were reported from South Delhi Municipal Corporation, 519 from North Delhi Municipal Corporation area and 380 from East Delhi Municipal Corporation. Other cases of the vector-borne disease were reported from NDMC and Delhi cantonment areas.
Last year, a total of 964 cases were reported and five deaths took place while in 2010, a total of 5,973 dengue cases and eight deaths were recorded in the capital. The state government had recently launched an SMS campaign to educate people about the preventive measures that can contain the spread of the disease.
According to health minister A K Walia, over 60 lakh text messages will be sent to citizens to inform them about the steps required to ensure that the deadly virus does not breed in their surroundings.
At a review meeting on Monday, Walia sanctioned Rs 5 crore to East, North and South Delhi municipal corporations and asked them to intensify fogging exercise across the city and take steps urgently to contain mosquito breeding. He also directed the three civic bodies to engage 3,400 domestic breeding checkers (DBC) to carry out checking throughout the year instead of the current practice of engaging them from April to November. The DBCs carry out checks in city households to contain any possible mosquito breeding ground and accordingly recommend steps to Municipal Corporation.