TACKLING CHIKUNGUNYA: BMP Health Committee chairman M. Muniraju (left), M.P. Manu Baligar, Deputy Commissioner (Health), and Vijyalakshmi, Chief Health Officer, at a press conference in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

Bangalore: The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) will soon hold a health camp on chikungunya in all its dispensaries and maternity homes.

"The camp will be on the lines of the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme and will be conducted within eight days," said M.P. Manu Baligar, Deputy Commissioner (Health).

More than two lakh cases of chikungunya have been reported in the State. However, the BMP on Wednesday claimed that there had been only two confirmed cases of chikungunya in its limits.

"Now, we have sent an additional 16 samples to the National Institute of Virology," said Chief Health Officer Vijayalakshmi.

As part of its efforts to prevent the spread of chikungunya, the BMP has imposed fines ranging between Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000 on owners of vacant lands who have left garbage or debris strewn on their plots.

The maximum fine had been imposed on a vacant plot owner at Basavanagudi, said corporator B.S. Satyanarayana.

As many as 12 lakes, including the one in Lalbagh and the Kempambudhi Tank, had been identified and fish such as Guppy and Gambusia, which ate mosquito larvae, would be let into them soon, said Mr. Baligar.

He also said that the city municipal councils, including Dasarahalli, were also being provided with fogging machines procured by the BMP on request.

Two paramedical staff had been suspended by the BMP for dereliction of duty in connection with the steps being taken to tackle chikungunya, Mr. Baligar said.

M. Muniraju, chairman of the Health Committee, said efforts to eradicate chikungunya would be a success only if the people cooperated with the BMP. "Water should not be allowed to remain stagnant as mosquito breeds in fresh water and debris should either be covered or disposed of properly," he said.

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