Kolkata: Real estate promoters hinder fight against dengue

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) may have amended an act empowering itself against allowing stagnant water at construction sites, members of a Rapid Action Force (RAF) of the KMC health department conducting regular drives to different dengue-prone areas are finding it an uphill task to take on a section of real estate promoters who have been defying a civic order showing little interest to clean stagnant water from the construction sites. This was evident during several raids that the KMC conducted in July across the city. According to a KMC health department official, the picture of neglect has been the same from north to south and south-eastern parts of Kolkata. As an example, the official pointed about a construction site at Narkeldanga North Road where the civic body’s RAF had served a notice 15 days ago asking the promoter to clean the clean, stagnant water which could become a breeding ground for dengue mosquito and become a threat to the thickly populated area.