Delhi model of combating dengue lauded across India: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said his government's anti-dengue campaign is being praised across the country and sought to credit it for no fatality due to the vector-borne disease in the city this year. A few days ago, Health Minister Satyendar Jain had attributed the same to the '10 Hafte 10 Baje 10 Minute' campaign led by Kejriwal.

"The Delhi model of fighting dengue is getting applauded across the country and recently in the popular TV show, KBC, actor Amitabh Bachchan asks a question about the campaign to a contestant by playing a voice clip of the Delhi CM," the chief minister's office said in a statement.

Kejriwal also said that with the collective efforts of all the Delhiites, "we have to stop the breeding of dengue mosquitoes and protect our family and the entire Delhi from dengue".   "This is the second last week of the campaign and due to the aggressive campaign by the Delhi government this year, no dengue-related death has been reported in the national capital," he was quoted as saying in the statement.

Last week, the campaign got support from celebrities such as singer Shankar Mahadevan, who encouraged the citizens of Delhi to religiously follow the dengue prevention guidelines, such as inspecting their residences for signs of stagnant water, draining the accumulated water or adding a layer of oil or petrol to it to prevent breeding of mosquitoes, it said.

Into the ninth week of the anti-dengue campaign, Kejriwal appealed to the citizens to join the campaign this Sunday.