Six illegal vehicle washing centers closed
Jamshedpur, July 8 : As part of their strategy to fight against Dengue menace, the local civic body, Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), has decided to clamp down on illegal vehicle washing centers.
The team of JNAC on Sunday seized pipes and closed down six illegal vehicle washing centers from along Sakchi-Burmamines Road near Garhabasa and Tuiladungri.
� We are working hard to ensure that the Dengue spread is controlled. We were receiving complaints about unauthorized vehicle washing centers operating along Sakchi-Burmamines Road and today we launched a crackdown and seized pipes from water taps used by the six vehicle washing centers. As per our understanding water from these centers, which are used for washing vehicles, accumulate in the containers and clog road side drains and turn into vulnerable breeding spots of Aedes aegypti larvae which breed in fresh water. We will be carrying out similar raids in other areas where such washing centers operate and seize water motors,� said JNAC special officer, Sanjay Kumar Pandey.
Incidentally, there are nearly 20 such washing centers operating in the city under JNAC command areas and most of them pilfer into piped water supply of Jusco without obtaining permission from either Jusco or JNAC.
JNAC enforcement teams have also being directed to pick up abandoned vehicles dumped alongside roads and near other public places.
Meanwhile, JNAC enforcement team today conducted door-to-door search operation in over 136 houses in Shastrinagar area in Kadma and conducted spraying of larvicides and searched for potential spot for larvae of Aedes aegypti.
Dengue and viral fever is spreading across the steel city, with affected people continuing to pour into hospitals and nursing homes.
Doctors in the city blame the rise in dengue cases to the deteriorating hygene in the city. They said that if the civic bodies do nothing, the number of cases could spiral out of control.
From district health department records, in the year 2010, over 10,000 viral cases were reported in the district in the monsoon period while there were four deaths due to dengue. The figure rose to 15,000 in 2011, mostly from chikungunya and dengue, with one death due to dengue.
“We need to understand that mosquitoes that carry the virus of dengue do not come from outside, rather they generate from the household things like flower-pots, coolers water, rejected tyre kept on the roof top or in the corner of the garden. So we must ensure that there is no such place where water is stagnant for sometime,” said a health official.
