NDMC trains staff to fight vector-borne diseases, holds citywide awareness drives
The training session saw participation from over 250 sanitary inspectors, assistant inspectors, surveillance workers, and officials from the civil and horticulture departments. The initiative aimed to strengthen the technical capacity of frontline workers and promote effective on-ground action.
NDMC Secretary Tariq Thomas stressed that prevention, timely treatment, and public awareness were crucial to tackling these diseases.
He urged civic staff to focus on eliminating mosquito breeding sites and promoting hygiene through widespread outreach campaigns.
'Massive awareness drives across NDMC areas, including schools, colleges, public spaces, markets and residential colonies, are the need of the hour,' he said, suggesting the use of street plays, IEC material, mobile vans, SMS alerts, and social media to reach citizens of the capital.
Thomas also underlined the importance of empowering ground staff to conduct regular fogging, anti-larval operations, and inspections of both public and private premises.
These activities, he said, are vital to disrupting the mosquito life cycle. During the session, Dr. Aditi, Zonal Epidemiologist from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, offered detailed guidance on identifying mosquito species, particularly the Aedes mosquito responsible for dengue. She also spoke about breeding habits, symptoms, and simple preventive measures.
Experts at the session noted that while there are no vaccines currently available for dengue and chikungunya, controlling mosquito breeding remains the most effective line of defence. 'Prevention is far easier than cure,' one of them remarked.
Dr Shakuntla Shrivastava, Medical Officer of Health, NDMC, expressed confidence that the trained workforce would carry out their duties with greater efficiency following the session.
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