Bhubaneswar: City Mayor & Commissioner announced #DryDay Bhubaneswar as a campaign to curtail the outbreak of Dengue in the city. During a preparedness meeting held at Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Tuesday, it was announced that Dry Day shall be observed every Thursday & Sunday as a citizen-driven campaign to clear all unused water-filled containments by drying them up.
“The idea of observing Dry-day is to ensure household level cleanliness drive to clear all unused water containments. We urge the citizens to do extensively search their premises and disrupt mosquito breeding sources, said Mayor Sulochana Das.
“It is noted that traditionally the month of August has been the peak time for Dengue in Bhubaneswar. Owing to the monsoon starting from the month of June, the unused water containments become the breeding points if the water remains unused for more than 7 days.
To have control over dengue, awareness is the best weapon. Action must start from the household & institution level. On that note, the Dry-day shall be very effective in our effort to keep the city dengue free”, said Commissioner BMC, Sri Bijay Amrut Kulange. The strategy is to engage public and private institutions to clean up containers every Thursday in their respective places whereas the domestic level drive will be on every Sunday. Such practice in each locality of the city will be leading the breakage of the mosquito breeding cycle; he added.
The meeting also spelt out other awareness initiatives like source identification & reduction drive in vulnerable patches. Household-level surveillance involving anti-larva workers, Swachha Sathis and volunteers to be carried out in high burdened wards. BMC shall initiate an extensive IEC & Social media campaign on Dengue to reach out to citizens which includes tableau & street plays. Audio Visual messages shall be developed and shared to bring more awareness to destroy the breeding sources.
“We are looking at large citizen participation and hence all corporators, sanitary inspectors and respective health staff shall take up household level awareness through volunteers, WhatsApp group messages” added the BMC Mayor.
