Following a recent announcement of Tamil Nadu government to observe all Thursdays as anti-dengue day in a bid to give a push to dengue-control measures in the State, the first such day was observed in Madurai district on Thursday.
As part of the programme, the School Education department had sent instructions to all the schools to conduct a cleanliness drive either between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. or 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. N. Marimuthu, Chief Educational Officer, said the focus would be on ensuring water did not stagnate on the school premises, as it is the breeding source for dengue-causing mosquitoes. “We have received confirmation from almost all schools that the drive was carried out,” he said.
K.V. Arjun Kumar, Deputy Director of Health Services, said different teams visited schools across the district to create awareness among the school children and also to distribute nilavembu concoction. “In each of the 13 blocks in the district, we had deployed around 30 to 35 personnel, including Block Medical Officers, Block Health Supervisor, Sector Health Nurses and Village Health Nurses, and other officials. We covered around 700 schools. The rest will be covered in the next couple of days,” he said.
Dr. Arjun Kumar said that awareness programmes were also conducted in government offices. Pledge was taken in many offices to maintain cleanliness o campus. Awareness sessions were conducted for students in some of the colleges.