Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a special campaign against Dengue on Sunday. Kejriwal checked his house for any stagnant water to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases. He tweeted about the activity and urged people to do the same. At a press conference on Wednesday, Arvind Kejriwal had appealed to the people in Delhi to dedicate 10 minutes of every Sunday towards the cause, to ensure no stagnant water is present in their houses or surroundings to prevent the breeding of dengue-carrier mosquitoes.

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The Union Health Ministry had launched a campaign against vector-borne diseases in July this year. The Ministry had urged people's participation and stressed on the importance of children's participation for the campaign. While interacting with people during the campaign, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan reiterated the commitment of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi towards making India ‘swachch and swastha’. He suggested that various steps and strategies need to be put in place for combating Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya. He said, "Our main focus should be on controlling the vector itself".

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Dengue outbreak in Delhi

A total of 75 dengue cases have been registered in Delhi in 2019 so far out of which at least 35 were reported in August alone. 131 cases of malaria were also reported. Delhi faces the wrath of water-borne diseases every year. According to SDMC (South Delhi Municipal Corporation), which keeps a tab on vector-borne diseases for the city, reported 2,798 dengue cases and four deaths in 2018 while 4,726 dengue cases and 10 deaths in 2017.

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Dengue wrath in India

As per the Union Health Ministry, Dengue claimed more than 80 lives and affected around 80,000 people in 2018 and killed 325 people and affected around 1,88,401 in 2017 across the country. The vector-borne disease affected  6,210 in 2019, according to the information given by the government in Lok Sabha on June 21, 2019. Karnataka (1303 cases 0 deaths), Tamil Nadu (988 cases, 0 deaths), Telangana (767 cases, 0 deaths) and Kerala (469 cases, 4 deaths) were reported in South India, according to Ashwini Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare. The number of people affected by vector-borne diseases has alarmingly gone up in recent years. 

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(With inputs from ANI)