The Delhi High Court on Monday initiated a suo motu public interest litigation on the rise of vector-borne diseases caused by mosquitoes, PTI reported. A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh said that if the situation was not controlled immediately, it could lead to complexities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“If people get dengue or something and they need to be hospitalised in Covid times, it will multiply the problem very badly,” the court said in its order, according to the Hindustan Times.
The court directed the Delhi government, three municipal corporations in the city, Delhi Cantonment and New Delhi Municipal Council to file their status reports on the steps already taken and to be undertaken on mosquito infestation and listed the case for hearing before a bench headed by the chief justice on May 28.
According to data provided by civic bodies, 25 cases of dengue have been reported till May 22 this year while only 18 cases were reported during the same period in 2020, the Hindustan Times reported. Eight cases of malaria have been reported in the Capital till May 22, as compared to 18 during the same period last year.
Civic bodies in Delhi said they have already started identifying areas prone to mosquito breeding and have taken measures to mitigate the problem.
The north civic body has identified over 170 such sites and started fumigation and spraying of anti-larva medicine. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation also said it was carrying out fumigation exercises and had issued over 1,800 fines to owners of properties where mosquito breeding was found.
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