Cuttack, Aug. 5: The civic body has decided to monitor the ongoing sanitation measures in the city after drawing flak for not being able to contain the dengue outbreak.

A fresh guideline has been issued by the civic body and nine officers of various departments have been asked to supervise sanitation measures .

“Each officer has been assigned five or six wards and have been asked to ensure that the health workers carry out the sanitation measures properly,” said city health officer P.K. Pradhan.

He said they had been asked to supervise the sanitary staff engaged in spraying of anti-larvicide oil, fogging measures and disposal of solid waste generated by various localities. Action will be taken against violators based on the report filed by each supervising officer to the mayor and commissioner. The move is likely to ensure transparency so that the sanitary staff carry out their duties properly.

On an average, between 20 and 25 new dengue cases are being reported everyday. A total of 368 persons from the city have tested positive. Dengue cases have been reported from 30 wards, most of them being from ward Nos. 21 and 23.

Local residents allege that dengue has assumed serious proportions with the civic body not taking timely measures to check the breeding of the aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

“Dengue cases have been reported from Cuttack over the past three years and despite this, no timely measures were taken by the corporation to ensure that fogging and spraying of larvicide oil was carried out,” said Umesh Sahu, a resident of Nima Sahi.

However, civic officials said that usually awareness and fogging measures were carried out in the city by the end of July every year. Due to early arrival of monsoon, dengue cases were reported much early this year.

At present, an additional 270 sanitary employees and 235 accredited social health activists have been engaged to create awareness about the disease and contain its spread.

The health workers are now conducting house-to-house visits to ensure that there is no accumulation of water that could make an idea breeding ground for mosquitoes. Schoolchildren, NCC, NGOs and other volunteers have also been roped in to create awareness.

A blood donation camp was also organised by the corporation today keeping in view the shortage of blood for dengue patients in the city. Around 100 units of blood were collected.