With suspected dengue cases shooting up to 9,000 this year, 850 of them confirmed by the BMC’s health department, the civic body has now started a special drive in residential areas to detect mosquito larvae. According to experts, a mosquito larva can survive without water for a year and can start growing into a mosquito as soon as it gets conducive conditions. While the cases of dengue have dropped from 146 in November to just 32 so far this month owing to temperature drop across the city, a drive to drain out water sources and kill larvae will be helpful in the next monsoon. “This drive will conducted be across the city,” said BMC’s additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh. Civic officials have been facing stiff resistance from particularly up-scale areas like Juhu and Bandra, where the entry for inspection in the housing societies and private bungalows is barred. A BMC official told Newsline, “We are asked to wait outside residential societies until the watchman gets permission. With so many inspections in our schedule, waiting for hours outside a society or bungalow wastes a lot of time.” Coming out in support of the BMC, Actor and social activist Shabana Azmi took to social media to support the dengue drive. “Film industry friends, the BMC guys are doing a special check for dengue larvae. Pls (sic) let them into your homes it’s for our own good,” she tweeted recently, which was followed by another tweet: “The BMC guys r (sic) being made to wait in the sun for hours. What a pity, they r only trying to do their job.” Dr Rajan Naringrekar, insecticide officer at BMC, said slums have been more receptive in adopting dengue preventive measures, with most complying and regularly cleaning their water drums. This year, the city has reported 12 confirmed deaths due to dengue. In six other deaths, the victim also had dengue apart from other illnesses, which worsened their medical condition.
