Japan Garden City fined Tk5 lacs after Aedes larvae found
Japan Garden is now a mosquito garden. It has become a death pit, Mayor Atik said
Authorities of The Japan Garden City in the capital's Mohammadpur have been fined Tk5 lacs today (8 July) after Aedes larvae were found on the premises during a mosquito elimination drive by the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).
This drive was a part of DNCC's month-long mosquito control campaign under the supervision of DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam.
After finding Aedes mosquito larvae in the basement of some buildings in Japan Garden City, Atiqul Islam said, "Japan Garden is now a mosquito garden. It has become a death pit."
During the first day of the drive, DNCC officials inspected multiple buildings with ten mobile courts in all wards and applied insecticides in areas where Aedes larvae were found.
They also filed 17 cases in total and received Tk18.85 lacs as fines.
The dengue situation in the country continues to worsen as the mosquito-borne disease has now spread to 57 districts, and the total number of patients surged to 11,298 as of Friday (7 July).
Up until 7 July, 51 dengue-related deaths have been reported in Dhaka, while 11 deaths occurred in Chattogram. Additionally, one person each lost their life to dengue in Mymensingh, Rangpur, and Barisal divisions.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 2,165 dengue patients, including 1,528 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
Experts say the city authorities have not conducted sufficient Aedes mosquito control activities throughout the year.
Professor Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director (disease control) at the DGHS, said the current rainfall patterns are likely to cause waterlogging in many places, which in turn will increase the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes.
"We are getting into a difficult situation as dengue is spreading across the country. Now 17 crore people in the country are at risk of getting infected," he told The Business Standard.
The two city corporations in Dhaka claimed that they have been carrying out routine activities to control dengue.
Brigadier General AKM Shafiqur Rahman, chief health officer of the Dhaka North City Corporation, stated, "The operation is being executed by gathering the home addresses of patients admitted to hospitals."