Kiosks from where awareness messages about dengue will be played are being set up in each of the 144 wards in Kolkata in an attempt to reach out to maximum number of people.
This is the first time that such kiosks have been set up during Durga Puja, said a senior official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
For years, the KMC has been playing a recorded message about dengue from roving autorickshaws.
Dengue infections are rising sharply in the city and across many districts in the state. A senior official of the state health department said Kolkata was one of the districts from where comparatively higher number of dengue cases were being reported.
More than 1,500 dengue cases have been reported in the city so far this year. The numbers had doubled within a fortnight in September.
“We have set up kiosks in each of the 144 wards. A recorded message about dengue prevention will be played from the kiosks. Besides, leaflets on what people should do to prevent being infected with the dengue virus will be distributed from the kiosks,” said an official of the KMC.
“The kiosks have been put up at locations where people gather in large numbers.”
In many wards, the kiosks have been set up or are being set up in front of markets or close to pandals. In Ward 115, from where three dengue deaths have been reported in quick succession recently, the kiosk has been set up at the Tollygunge Karunamoyee crossing.
In Ward 107 (parts of Kasba), the kiosk has been set up near the Rajdanga market. In Ward 70 (parts of Bhowanipore), the kiosk has been set up on Puddapukur Road and close to four pandals.
Officials of the KMC have said repeatedly that it is impossible to contain the spread dengue unless people became aware.
