Kolkata: One more suspected dengue death in Bidhannagar area

KOLKATA: Swapan Mistri, a 57-year-old resident of Baguiati who was admitted to a private hospital off EM Bypass a few days back with dengue, as claimed by family members, died on Tuesday morning. This is the second case of dengue death in Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area this year.
BMC board of administrators member Pranay Roy went to visit the family at their home in Baguiati Saha Para area on Tuesday evening. “Whether he died of dengue is yet to be confirmed as we have not seen his death certificate so far but family members said that he was suffering from dengue. We are taking all precautionary measures, including cleaning up the area, spraying larvicide and fogging,” Roy said.
It was on November 8 that 33-year-old Satabdi Saha, a resident of Baguiati’s Ashwininagar, died from dengue shock syndrome in Baguiati, which falls under BMC. Several wards here have become dengue hot spots. Areas in Baguiati, Kestopur, Prafullakanan, Raghunathpur, Tegharia and Kaikhali have always been dengue-prone. Several dengue deaths have been reported here since 2016.
From an illegal cowshed in the locality to clogged canals with stagnant water, there are many places across Baguiati and adjacent areas where mosquitoes breed. “At some localities, there are dengue patients at almost every alternate house. The drains are clogged with stagnant water in many places and there are vacant plots dumped with garbage where mosquitoes breed. The civic authorities have only recently started spraying larvicide and fogging but this needs to be done round the year and particularly during monsoon when water accumulates after rains,” said Biswajit Samaddar, a local resident of Baguiati.
Dengue cases in the BMC area had been very low last year and till early September this year, only 10 cases were reported in entire BMC area. The number of cases started to jump from October 1, with about 137 dengue cases reported in October alone. Over 100 fresh cases have been reported in November. Currently, the number of dengue cases in the BMC area stands around 290 till date.
With the spike in the number in dengue cases, BMC has formed six quick action teams comprising civic officials, health and conservancy workers. These teams are inspecting localities and conducting anti-dengue and Covid drives.
“We are finding stagnant water and mosquito larvae at several households. We are warning the households to keep the premises clean. If mosquito larvae is found for the second time in the same houses, notice boards will be put up mentioning that mosquito larvae has been found from that house and appropriate steps will be taken,” said a BMC official.