Dengue breeding grounds: legal action against 174 in Dehiwala

Hemanthi GURUGE

Health authorities in the Dehiwala PHI division yesterday identified 926 out of 9,010 houses as having dengue mosquito breeding grounds. Officers made this announcement after inspecting over 9,000 housing units in the area during the past few days.

The Health Ministry launched a special dengue eradication programme from June 6 to 9 to inspect all public and private premises. Dehiwala is reported to be the worst affected from dengue in the Colombo district. A large numbers of patients suffering from dengue have been reported from the area.

Legal action was taken against 174 people who had dengue breeding grounds and notice was issued on 406 people to clean their premises within two weeks. Almost 187 places with dengue mosquito larvae were found in the area.

The Health Ministry will launch another dengue eradication programme at Kassapa road Jawatta today on the direction of Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena.