Chennai:
Dengue cases on the rise in Chennai, the Greater Chennai Corporation has launched preventive measures in 1,534 schools across the city.Statistics indicate an increase in the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes, which spread dengue, in Chennai and its surrounding areas during the ongoing monsoon season. As children and school students are particularly vulnerable, the Corporation’s Health Department has intensified a comprehensive cleaning and mosquito-control drive in 1,534 educational institutions, including government, government-aided and private self-financing schools within its limits.
As part of the initiative, unwanted materials that could serve as mosquito breeding sites, including broken plastic bottles, discarded tyres and uncovered water tanks, are being removed from school premises.
Special fogging operations and anti-larval spraying are also being carried out on weekends across all school campuses. The terraces, toilets and drinking water tanks of school buildings are being regularly inspected, and stagnant water is being removed immediately.
To create awareness among students, dengue prevention pledges are being administered during morning assemblies. Students have also been instructed to inform their parents and the Corporation's medical teams immediately if they develop symptoms of fever.
The Corporation's mobile medical teams are regularly visiting schools to monitor the health of students.
The civic body said the preventive measures were aimed at making school campuses safer and urged the public and school administrations to extend their full cooperation to prevent the spread of dengue.
