Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon on Wednesday urged the city dwellers to keep the courtyards clean to prevent the outbreak of dengue and chikungunya.
He made the call while inaugurating a two-week programme of the DSCC at a function at Bakultala of the Fine Art Institute at Dhaka University to control the mosquito menace.
The anti-mosquito crash programme will first be run in Zone-1 of the city corporation deploying 278 spray-men and 318 fogger machines. The campaign will be run in four other zones of the corporation in phases.
Addressing the programme, the DSCC mayor said chikungunya spread abruptly in the city last year. "We'd launched a hotline along with an extensive mosquito control programme at that time," he said.
Responding to the calls received through the hotline, the DSCC provided treatment and physiotherapy as well as free medicines to the affected city dwellers at their doorsteps, he said, adding that the programme had earned a wide appreciation.
Khokon claimed that the mosquito menace is relatively low in the DSCC area. "Even though, we're still active and have taken extensive initiatives."
Among others, DSCC Chief Executive Officer Khan Mohammad Bilal, Chief Health Officer Brig Gen Sheikh Salahuddin and local Ward Councillor Advocate MA Hamid were present, reports bdnews24.com.