Rise in dengue, chikungunya cases: Delhi HC to hear plea over menace in national capital today

New Delhi: Amid rising cases of dengue and chikungunya in the national capital following the outbreak, the Delhi High Court will on Tuesday day hear the matter in connection with the growing mosquito-borne menace.

Earlier this week, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal issued directions for a comprehensive plan to make the national capital mosquito free. The move came after the high court pulled up the AAP government over the rising dengue and chikungunya menace.

"The Chief Minister has given instructions to make a comprehensive proposal to make Delhi mosquito free in which help of concerned officials of Union Government, Delhi government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and neighbouring towns of Delhi-NCR region should be taken," said Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in a press briefing.

Informing about the preventive measures, Sisodia said the Chief Minister has ordered to fix the fee of private hospitals that would be treating dengue and chikungunya.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that "all the government hospitals have been asked to increase 10 to 20 percent beds for the fever patients".

According to the report of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation which tabulates the data on behalf of all municipal corporations in the city, as many as 4,431 cases of dengue were reported till the end of 2016.

Also, a total of 12,221 chikungunya cases were reported in Delhi till December 24, 2016 out of which 9,749 were confirmed, witnessing one of the worst outbreak.

Although the season of the vector-borne diseases had ended in December, the city continue to report such cases.

This year, at least 89 cases of chikungunya and 36 dengue cases have been reported in the national capital so far.

(With PTI inputs)