KOLKATA: Civic officials have been empowered to force their way into compounds and buildings that are locked to clear garbage and stagnant water so that they don't turn into breeding grounds of aedes aegypti mosquitoes and lead to the spread of dengue. The decision was taken at a civic body meeting chaired by mayor Firhad Hakim on Saturday. The civic officials will need to call local cops and break open the locked gates in their presence.
Two days ago, a 12-year-old resident of Mahim Halder Lane in Kalighat had died of dengue, the first such fatality this monsoon. KMC health department had then launched an anti-dengue drive across the 144 wards in Kolkata with special focus on areas that are traditionally dengue-prone. It was during the drive that health department staff faced the problem of accessing compounds and buildings that are padlocked, leading to the issue being raised at a meeting on dengue convened by the mayor on Saturday.
