Civic body serves notices to atleast 1,886 house owners

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has served notices on 1,886 house owners urging them to clear the accumulated water from the roofs of their buildings failing which legal action will be taken against them.

The notices have been served between January and July 2020. Incase the house owners fail to clear the accumulated water from the roof cases will be filed against them in the Municipal Magistrate's court where fines that vary between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1 lakh may be slammed on the errant house owners.

Senior civic officials said vigil on the roofs of houses particularly highrise apartments has become very important as it has been seen that in many houses the rainwater pipes have become defunct and there is accumulation of water on the roof.

They alleged that due to the fear of COVID-19 many house and apartment owners are not allowing KMC staffs to check the roof. The water on the roof serve as potential breeding ground of Aedes Egypti mosquitoes. "The accumulated water on the roof needs to be cleared in order to destroy the mosquito breeding grounds. The KMC is carrying out intense campaign requesting the house owners to clear the containers where water is stored and ensure that there is no accumulation of water on the roof. But many owners are not listening and this is unfortunate," said Debashis Biswas, chief vector control officer. Senior civic officials said they found empty cans and containers on the roofs of many highrise apartments.

Eighty eight people have been afflicted with Dengue in the city between January and July. Senior civic officials said between May 1 and July 30, 2019 the city had received 285 mm rainfall whereas during the same period in 2020 the city has received around 2020 mm rainfall.

The intermitted rain along with sharp rise in discomfort factor and temperature augment the breeding of Dengue carrying mosquitoes.

The KMC found that four wards, namely, 63, 68, 69 and 79 are most vulnerable and intense anti Dengue drives have been carried out here.

The civic authorities have decided to go for need based drives in areas where people afflicted with Dengue will be found. The KMC teams will visit all the houses situated on both sides of the street in the affected areas and take initiative to destroy the breeding ground of the mosquitoes.

The KMC has opned 15 Dengue detection centres in the city.