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Dengue threat:
Owners of bare lands to be penalised
Rafik Jalaldeen
The Colombo Municipal Council will take stern action against the
owners of bare-lands in the Colombo city and its suburbs if they do not
properly maintain such bare lands. A shramadana program was set up by
the CMC to clean the city and prevent dengue mosquito breeding.
City Chief Administrator Omar Kamil said the highest number of dengue
cases were currently reported from the Colombo District. A shramadana
program was commenced last Saturday and it will be carried out next
Saturday also. Involving around 800 persons from the CMC staff the
Public Health Care Division, Engineering Division, Solid base Management
section, Work Division and Drainage Division.
He noted that they had focused on the areas where the highest number
of dengue cases were reported, particularly Colombo North and Colombo
Central. Furthermore, schools and state institutions where open spaces
are more considerable have been instructed to keep their premises clean.
Kamil reiterated that the CMC will publish an advertisement in the
newspapers urging owners of the bare-lands in the Colombo city to
maintain them properly. Those who fail to obey the call will have to
face the consequences.
“These bare-lands are breeding grounds for dengue mosquitoes. There
are plenty of bare-lands which are abandoned in the Colombo-3 and
Colombo-7 areas. These lands are not maintained well and are a heaven
for dengue mosquitoes. We will publish an advertisement in the
newspapers to the owners of bare-lands calling them to maintain their
lands properly. If not, we will issue a notice to the respective land
owner within two weeks and move to the next step to take stern action
against them”, Kamil told the Daily News.
The CMC team carried out a shramadana near to the Colombo General
Hospital and some of the areas in Colombo-7.
He said the prevalence of dengue is greater after the recent rains.
Therefore, we appeal to the public, schools and civil societies to join
hands with the CMC to help prevent dengue mosquito breeding. |
