Rise in dengue, chikungunya cases: Why no scientific solution to prevent vector-borne diseases, asks Delhi High Court

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday slammed the civic agencies, saying none of them have made effort to plan a scientific solution to prevent outbreak of vector-borne disease such as chikungunya and dengue this monsoon.

"The municipal corporation does not even have a geographical map of where mosquito-borne diseases happened last year and where to fumigate. You are not even aware where the diseases are happening," said a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar.

The bench directed the municipal corporations to file a report on geographical mapping of areas which were affected by vector-borne diseases and said the report must also give details of the preventive and curative steps as per the mapping result.

It also sought to know if any prosecution were launched against persons whose houses were found to be breeding mosquito sites last year.

"Whole of Delhi has to suffer again. Where is the geographical mapping? Where did it (dengue/chikungunya) happen last year? What have you done to ensure it does not happen this year?" asked the bench.

"As far as preventive measures are concerned such as fumigation or checking on stagnant water, this year we see nothing happening.

"None of the authorities have placed before us the schedule for fumigation or keeping a tab on stagnant water or booking for violation," it observed.

The court pulled up Delhi government for celebrating National Dengue Day on Tuesday without taking a single step to prevent it as proposed to the court.

It said government waited for the National Dengue Day to put out advertisements on its prevention and local or homemade cure.

"Please advertise. Let the citizen know how to prevent mosquito-borne diseases and what the cures are including home remedies. There is nothing on TV. Why are you not making all that information public. Help the citizens. We feel extremely pained over loss of human life," the bench said.

As per a status report of South Delhi Municipal Corporation, 80 cases of chikungunya and 30 cases of dengue have already been reported in Delhi in just four months since January 1 this year, even though the season for vector-borne diseases in Delhi is between July and December.

In 2016, Delhi saw its first ever chikungunya outbreak that affected 9,661 people. In 2015, 16,000 dengue cases were reported and 60 people lost their lives to the disease.