A poster at the Juhu Tarang society calling residents for a drive against dengue
The fear of falling prey to dengue is high among residents of Mumbai, despite the number of cases going down. While 213 cases were reported at civic hospitals in October, in November that figure dropped to 146. In December, only 17 cases have been reported so far.
But the residents of Juhu Tarang society are taking no chances after one person succumbed to dengue and 25 were infected over the last three months. The residents conducted a drive, throwing out over 100 flower pots from their society where water could stagnate. Mosquito nets have become a prominent feature in all the houses of the society.
38-year-old Varsha Thakur, whose son has just recuperated from dengue, told NDTV, "Since the last three months the kids have not come down to play out of the fear of a mosquito bite. So from our side we have put up the nets and found out all the mosquito breeding sites in the building."
The residents do not trust the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the high number (25) of dengue cases. Which is why, they say, they have entrusted the children with the responsibility of being vigilant to ensure that every bit of stagnant water is spotted and duly removed before it becomes a breeding ground.
However, with temperatures in the city dropping, the civic body assures citizens that the worst is over. While 40 per cent of the world population is at risk from dengue, the mortality rate is less than 1 per cent. But what is startling is that many cases have come from affluent homes.
Mumbai's film industry too has been hit by the dengue virus. Rishi Kapoor, Lisa Haydon, Dipika Samson, Karanveer Vohra have all been infected by the Dengue virus.
Mr Vohra told NDTV, "There are a lot of sets including mine, I love my show a lot but I am going to say this that we as Indians don't believe in hygiene."
Dr Mangala Gomare, the chief of the Epidemiological Cell of the BMC, says, "Why only film studios? For that matter any place where scrap materials are lying or there are odd articles, it is a potential site for adieus mosquito breeding. And since this mosquito is active during the day, wherever there are activities going on outdoors during the day, there is a chance that transmission can occur. In more than 85% of cases patients have had breeding sites in their own houses. So one has to take care. If you take care of yourself it will automatically take care of your neighbours."