Several Residents have complained to their councillors that the municipal corporation has stopped fogging in the vulnerable areas despite more than 500 cases having been reported in the city. The councillors also alleged that the municipal officials make excuses whenever they are called for fogging. Sources in the municipal corporation said the chemical used for fogging was not available and therefore they could not do it in many parts of the city. The civic body had not done fogging at Shahi Majra village, Mohali village, Phase 4, Phase 5, Phase 10, Kumbra village, parts of Phase 11 and Phase 2. “We are doing fogging in the areas. Sometimes ago, we ran out of stock of the chemical used for fogging. But now we have purchased it and we started fogging. We need between 800 and 1,000 liters of chemical every season,” said Dr Meetpal Singh, medical officer, MC. The councillors of wards 8 and 9, which are vulnerable for breeding of mosquitoes, contended the claims of Meetpal Singh and said they are receiving complaints from the residents that the MC did not do fogging in their areas. Ward 8 councilor Ashok Jha said he was receiving complaints on a regular basis from the residents of his ward. “Fogging was not done in my area that includes Shahi Majra village, which is prone to breeding of mosquitoes. Despite several requests, the MC officials did not listen to me,” he said. Ward 9 councillor Arun Sharma also claimed that the civic body did not do fogging in his area despite several complaints. “Every time the officers concerned have some excuses to make. We have no option now, my area is low lying and water logging is a problem here which is an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes,” Sharma said. Sharma also said the MC had three fogging machines but whenever he called the officials they either told him that the machine was not working or made an excuse that they ran out of stock of chemical. According to Dr Avtar Singh, the in-charge of keeping a tab on the outbreak of dengue, said 548 cases of dengue have been reported in the district and majority of the cases are reported from Mohali city. He said two deaths have been reported, too. Municipal joint commissioner Avneet Kaur was not available for comment despite repeated phone calls as she was busy in a meeting with senior officials.
