NEW DELHI: Stepping up efforts to prevent a dengue outbreak in its areas, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has issued almost 100 challans over the past month. Determined to avoid last year's lapse when the family of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was diagnosed with dengue, the NDMC is going all out to follow up with the defaulters this time round.

"We have been conducting regular inspections in the NDMC areas. Routine activities have been intensified near the four big hospitals that fall in our areas -- Lady Hardinge, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. We are taking particular care with AIIMS, where there was an outbreak last year,'' said a senior NDMC official.

The NDMC had also issued a challan to AIIMS two weeks ago for allowing breeding in an overhead tank in the institute's guesthouse.

The houses of three Members of Parliament on North Avenue have also been violating the guidelines issued by the Department of Health.

"Challans have been issued to Junior Engineer (JE) of the Central Public Works Department for being the caretaker of MP houses, as MPs often don't live in their residences all the time. During the inspection it was found that there was breeding of mosquitoes in the overhead tanks in these houses,'' said NDMC officials.

While the NDMC may be taking special care of the VIP areas, there has also been an attempt to ensure that the ordinary citizens are also dengue-free.

"We are taking particular care in the Sarojini Nagar and Kidwai Nagar areas, as most of the patients with dengue were found to be from there. Breeding of mosquitoes was also found in some government buildings and challans have been issued to the appropriate authority. The only area we don't inspect due to security concerns is where the embassies are located,'' say NDMC officials.

Officials claim that the civic body had also put in place "biological'' measures to fight the aedes mosquitoes.

The Kushak Nullah that flows next to the Prime Minister's House has been filled in with fish that feed on the larva.

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