Poor sanitation: Houses warned of action

Despite the state government allotting Rs 13.8 crore in its campaign against dengue and initiated several programmes and campaigns to ensure that people understand the importance of preventing dengue, the outcome has not been very positive.

Following this, the Government has decided to imbibe on the strict enforcement mode to make people understand they can’t afford to store fresh water in open bins or other containers. “We have directed our field workers to issue legal notices to those who fail to prevent breeding in and around their homes, to make the public understand that what they are doing is wrong. From this week on, there will be serious efforts at all levels to make people understand. Though it is an already existing legal provision, we are reinforcing it and issuing an order on Tuesday,” said Dr K Kolandaisamy, Director, Public Health Department.

“We have been stressing on the need for all fever cases to be checked and for the public to realise the importance of sanitation. Until last month, people were panicking as the dengue cases were high. However, of late, the lack of interest on part of the people is being seen,” said a health official. The government has allocated crores on campaigning against this disease.

“We have been advertising the need to prevent the disease, with the help of actors like Karthik and Sivakumar. We have also been screening a documentary on the same for almost two weeks in theatres,” he added.

The government and the corporation have been conducting house to house campaigns, taking time to educate households on the importance of sanitation. “On several occasions, the field workers, who visit the houses, say that the people do not pay any attention to what they say, pretending to already be aware of everything,” Dr Kolandaisamy added. It may be recalled that over 6000 confirmed cases have been reported this year.