Delhi High Court to hear Dengue, Chikungunya matter

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will continue to hear petitions seeking action by the government and civic authorities to stop the spread of diseases such as dengue and chikungunya in the national capital.

Rebuking the Delhi Government over the unaddressed problem of garbage lying unattended in the city leading to vector-borne diseases, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday warned the former of facing a contempt notice in the matter.

The High Court expressed its displeasure over the prevalent situation saying, "You (Delhi Government) have mentioned in your affidavit that you have cleaned all the areas in Delhi, however, the media reports show that the garbage is not collected even in four days."

"Keeping in view of your false affidavit, should we issue contempt of court notice against you?" the court further said.

Earlier on May 16, the High Court had pulled up the Centre, the Delhi Government and the civic agencies for failing to take appropriate steps in regard to combating the spread of vector-borne diseases.

Taking a dig at all the three authorities, the court said that mosquitoes don't wait for meetings and asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to conduct mapping of vulnerable areas where dengue and chikungunya cases have occurred.

Earlier this month, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal issued directions for a comprehensive plan to make the national capital mosquito free.

As per a status report of South Delhi Municipal Corporation, 80 cases of chikungunya and 30 cases of dengue have already been reported in Delhi in just four months, since January 1 this year, even though the season for vector-borne diseases in Delhi is between July and December.

In 2016, Delhi saw its first ever chikungunya outbreak that affected 9,661 people. In 2015, 16,000 dengue cases were reported and 60 people lost their lives to the disease.