Residents attack anti-dengue workers

Tirupur: Four public health department contract workers who were involved in dengue eradication measures were attacked by three residents when their houses at Avinashi in Tirupur district were being checked on Saturday.

The residents also allegedly abused women health workers using caste names. The workers did not lodge a police complaint though the Avinashi police reached the spot and took the stock of situation. However, the department has issued show cause notices to the 'attackers' seeking an explanation for obstructing efforts to check the spread of dengue.

With at least five people dying of dengue in Tirupur district in the past 10 days, the health department and the civic bodies are focusing on the dengue eradication campaign. The frontline workers have undertaken door-to-door visits and are taking steps to eliminate the breeding sources of Aedes Aegypti, the vector that spreads dengue, apart from educating residents about the fever.

"We look for breeding sites and pour abate solution in water kept in open vessels or containers. And we empty the vessels if mosquito larvae or eggs are found in the water. It is the health department's protocol, and should be followed. We have to leave only after these measures are taken," said a health official who works in Avinashi taluk.

On Saturday evening four women contract workers visited two houses on Pilliyarkoil Street at Velayudhampalayam. When they were taking mosquito eradication measures, three residents - two women and a man - assaulted them. Both women were injured, the official told TOI. "They abused the workers, referring to their castes," he added.

One of the workers is facing such a situation for the fourth time.

Meanwhile, a police officer associated with the Avinashi police admitted that such an incident occurred, but both parties did not wish to pursue it.

Expressing worry over irresponsible attitude of the residents, a higher health official said, "We daily face such struggles in the field, where the residents do not cooperate. Many a time, medical officers (doctors) too have faced abuse for emptying water vessels which contain mosquito larvae or eggs.

Tirupur district has a larger number of migrant population and they mostly use plastic containers to store water. They seldom clean those containers, which become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.