Dengue: Delhi High Court issues notice in plea seeking measures to control outbreak in North Delhi

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice in a plea seeking measures to control the dengue outbreak in North Delhi [Ananya Kumar v Govt. of NCT Delhi]..Justice Rekha Palli issued notice in the matter and posted it for further hearing on November 18, 2021..The petitioner resides in Model Town, which like other areas in the capital, is facing an outbreak of Dengue. .The plea states that every year, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation used to conduct fogging, door-to-door awareness campaigns and inspection of mosquito larvae in the said area to prevent Dengue. The same has not been done by the respondent this year, the plea stated. The petitioner claims that due to the inaction on part of the authorities, this year, a lot of cases of Dengue have been reported in her area..She had filed a complaint on October 27, 2021 on the Corporation's official website urging it to take measures to control the outbreak of Dengue in her area. However, no action was taken on this complaint. The plea stated,"The petitioner is living in fear that children and senior citizen of her family may also suffer with dengue fever which can be fatal in their age and hospital beds are also filling fast.".Therefore, the petitioner approached the Court with a prayer to direct the Corporation and the State of NCT Delhi to conduct regular fogging of the area, door-to-door awareness campaigns, inspection of larvae on premises etc. She has also made a prayer for penalties for violations and for a direction to the authorities to issue Dengue helpline numbers..Last month, it was reported that over 1,000 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital this year, with more than 280 fresh cases logged in the last one week, according to a civic report released on October 25.