New Delhi:
To contain the escalating disease in the city, the three Delhi Municipal Corporations have initiated 'dengue homework programme' in all of their schools.
To further the process, a teacher has been designated as the nodal authority to implement the programme who would also be responsible for ensuring all the measures for prevention and control of dengue.
"We have initiated 'dengue homework programme' which is an old programme as a part of which cards containing sketches of common breeding sites are distributed among children in their class. The student is then asked to go home and check for those sites and fill up the card and get it signed by parents every week," said a senior Municipal Corporation official.
Further adding, the official said that the nodal teacher would check the cards and subsequently submit the report to District Health Officer. The report would include data on number of cards distributed and filled out by parents. The aim is to involve school children in the drive against the dreaded disease.
Also, the nodal teacher would read out the messages on the prevention and control of dengue during the morning assembly apart from from checking mosquito breeding sites in the school.
These teachers have been given training in respective zones by DHSs of the zones.
Delhi reported 831 dengue cases till August 29, with north Delhi with the highest at 352, south Delhi at 220, east Delhi at 73 cases.
Two casualties have been officially reported so far due to the vector-borne disease including that of a 10-year-girl, who died in the first week of August.