Amid Covid pandemic, city fears dengue onslaught

Ludhiana: Even as the city is struggling yet to come to terms with the crisis triggered by coronavirus, the residents now fear the spread of dengue and other such diseases, as proper fogging of mosquito-prone spots has not been done by the civic body till now, they claim.
Although the municipal corporation has initiated the fogging exercise, both residents and councillors dubbed it as eyewash. They said currently, fogging is being with only big machines, whereas pressing small machines into operation is a must, as big ones cannot enter the congested areas.
Fogging started last month, that too when the residents and councillors raised a hue and cry. At the moment 14 big machines are being used, while 95 small machines are lying idle.
Leader of the opposition in the corporation’s house and senior Akali Dal councillor Harbhajan Dang said, “With big machines, fogging takes place once in a week or a fortnight, which is not sufficient, as these days intensive fogging is required.”
He said the people complain about mosquito menace, but small machines are not being sent to the congested lanes. He said he would raise this matter with mayor Balkar Sandhu, so that dengue could be controlled timely.
BJP senior councillor Sunita Rani said, “In my ward, most of the areas are congested and fogging took place in the outer areas of the ward only. The residents are troubled with mosquitoes and they are afraid of the spread of dengue.” She said the authorities are not paying attention towards the problem and in case dengue strikes, the situation would go out of control.
Congress councillor Parvinder Lapran also said fogging is being done properly in his ward with big machines only, which does not touch the actual mosquito breeding grounds, which can lead to spread of dengue and malaria. He said he was in quarantine for the past 10 days, as his father had tested positive, but now he would take up the matter with the officials concerned.
K K Goel, a resident of Civil City, said, “Fogging is an issue of debate, because I don’t think the way it is done every year it brings any respite to the residents. Every year dengue cases are reported in the city.” He said civic officials get fogging done on papers only and this year, his area has not seen any fogging at all.
Despite repeated attempts, medical officer health Dr Vipul Malhotra could not be contacted for his comments.