Amidst the odd-even traffic rationing scheme that kicked in the national capital today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has claimed that his government will beat pollution like they beat dengue. “The people of Delhi have done commendable work. They have controlled both dengue and pollution” the AAP chief said while addressing the media.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain also said today that Delhi has so far recorded the lowest number of cases of dengue this year, in comparison to the last five years, and appealed to Delhiites to keep up the collective efforts till the next month.
Meanwhile, state minister Gopal Rai claimed: “We will defeat pollution same as we defeated Dengue”.
However, as per an India Today report, recent data reveals that more than 230 fresh cases of dengue have been reported in the past week, the highest in a week so far this year. The recent figures show that 1,069 cases of the mosquito-borne viral disease have been reported in Delhi in 2019 till now.
Read: The anatomy of a farce; the Odd-Even plan of Delhi
In the previous week ending October 28, data showed that 833 people were diagnosed with dengue in Delhi in 2019, the civic authorities said. The week alone had recorded 189 cases, a municipal report released on October 28 (Monday) said.
According to the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), out of the total of 833 cases of the vector-borne disease registered, 551 were recorded in October, 190 in September, 52 in August, 18 in July, 11 in June and the rest were registered between January and May. Similarly, according to the previous data, 2018 had seen 2,798 dengue cases and four deaths while 4,726 dengue cases and 10 deaths were reported in 2017.
These figures come in the middle of the Delhi government’s ’10 hafte, 10 baje, 10 minute’ (10 weeks, 10’o clock, 10 minutes) campaign, which the Delhi chief minister had kickstarted on September 8, 2019, against mosquito-borne diseases by inspecting his home for stagnant water to prevent the spread of vector-borne diseases. The campaign was endorsed by many celebrities as well.
Though dengue cases might have seen a slight decrease in the National Capital this year as compared to previous years, the total number still remains on the higher side. In September experts had cautioned that the dengue, chikungunya and malaria cases are rising in Delhi, and the situation may turn worse in the coming weeks, said Dr Rajiv Dang at Max Hospital, Gurugram.
Meanwhile, the Delhi CM was today seen carpooling with his colleagues on day one of the ‘Odd-Even’ schemes that kicked off in the capital today. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was seen riding a bicycle to work as he said the state government’s scheme is for “everybody’s benefit”.
However, despite emergency control measures kicking in on Friday, pollution levels peaked to a three-year high in Delhi on Sunday that made breathing difficult and lowered visibility that affected road and air traffic.