Delhi govt's anti-dengue campaign to start from today
New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will kick off the 10-week anti-dengue campaign on Sunday, seeking to build greater awareness on the prevention of vector-borne diseases in Delhi, officials said.
Last year, the '10 Hafte 10 Baje 10 Minute' campaign had garnered the support of many celebrities as well as officials of government and other autonomous bodies.
The campaign, which begins September 6, will continue every Sunday. The chief minister will kickstart the campaign on Sunday at 10 am, by inspecting for 10 minutes his own residence for stagnant water inside his home or his surroundings, which can lead to the breeding of mosquitoes that spread diseases such as dengue, malaria, and chikungunya, the Delhi government said in a statement.
"On the directions of the chief minister, the Delhi government is relaunching the anti-dengue campaign tomorrow, which is a 10-week mass awareness campaign against dengue and chikungunya," it said.
Last year, due to this mass campaign which was launched in September too, there were only 2,036 reported cases and two deaths due to dengue, as compared to 2015, when the dengue cases were 15,867 and there were 60 deaths, it claimed.
Kejriwal had appealed to Delhi ministers, MLAs, and the citizens to begin the mega-campaign from their own homes and spend 10 minutes every Sunday to make sure there is no stagnant water in their homes and surroundings.
After one week into the campaign, a doctor will share advice on the do's and don'ts to prevent dengue, the statement said.
The campaign also seeks to engage the residents urging them to call their friends and relatives and advise them on the good practices of preventing dengue.
The RWAS will be asked to come together and help in the fight against dengue and promote the '10 Hafte 10 Baje 10 Minute' campaign.
Many celebrities and social media influencers will also take part in the campaign, according to the statement.
At various stages, children will be encouraged to take part in the campaign by assigning them homework on behalf of the schools and asking them to call their friends to encourage them to take part in the campaign as well.
Asserting that the city government will attain success in its fight against dengue this year as well, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said, "Last year, when we launched the,'10 Hafte 10 Baje 10 Minute' campaign, we were successfully able to defeat dengue by collective efforts of the Delhiites and the governments".
