Patna: Patna is witnessing a worrying rise in dengue cases, with 624 patients reported so far this year and eight wards of the city marked as hotspots. The Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) has swung into action, deploying 375 teams across all 75 wards to control the outbreak. Each team has been tasked with fogging and anti-larvae spraying in two shifts every day. Commissioner Animesh Kumar Parashar said the civic body is working round the clock to prevent further spread of dengue, malaria, and other mosquito-borne diseases.
Ten special teams have been assigned to the most affected areas to carry out targeted operations. These teams are visiting nearly 18,000 homes daily, spraying anti-larvae chemicals such as Temephos in rooftops, flowerpots, under-construction sites, and other places where water collects. Malathion is being used for fogging in both indoor and outdoor spaces. In areas where more complaints of waterlogging have been received, additional teams have been pressed into service.
The PMC has also created a dedicated team of 25 personnel for hospitals, ensuring regular fogging and anti-larvae spraying within a 500-metre radius of homes of dengue patients. Special attention is being given to hotspots in the Patliputra, Nutan Rajdhani, Azimabad, Patna City, Kankarbagh, and Bankipur zones, with fogging vehicles deployed zone-wise – 13 in Patliputra, 12 in Nutan Rajdhani, and smaller fleets in other zones.
Residents are being urged to avoid waterlogging and report any complaints to the toll-free number 155304. Feedback registers have been distributed to households, asking people four simple questions about the spraying work to monitor its effectiveness. Senior health officers and executive officers have been instructed to personally supervise the campaign and submit regular reports. With these efforts, officials hope to stop the dengue outbreak from worsening in the peak season months of September and October.
