A call from The Telegraph Salt Lake on Wednesday ensured that a well in an under-construction building got covered immediately, thereby eradicating a mosquito-breeding ground in the season of vector-borne diseases.

The plot is adjacent to DB Park, where the government wants to build a six-storeyed office for West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board. But residents claimed such an office would create numerous problems for them and filed a public interest litigation opposing it earlier this year. The case is now on and work is stalled. The contractor has covered the plot from all the sides and locked it up, but residents living in highrises nearby called The Telegraph Salt Lake to report that they could spot water accumulating inside.

“My son and I have been down with a mystery fever since Dashami. The reports didn’t diagnose anything but we had symptoms of dengue and chikungunya. One of my domestic helps is down with dengue, another one’s son is down with it. And if I peer outside my window I see water accumulating in the under-construction site. This has to stop,” said resident Sharmistha Mukherjee on Tuesday.

When The Telegraph Salt Lake (TTSL) spoke to local councillor Rajesh Chirimar on Wednesday he said the corporation was in charge of the neighbourhood’s cleanliness, but that they couldn’t break into locked premises to clean it up. “The contractor’s phone number is mentioned outside the gated premises and any resident is free to call them and inform them about the issue,” said Chirimar.

“During monsoon some residents had informed me of water accumulation inside that plot and I had called up the contractor. They came immediately and cleaned up the area. I am even ready to provide them pesticides and bleaching powder if they want but they have to be informed. So I urge residents to either inform them or me whenever the need arises,” Chirimar added.

Within an hour Chirimar called TTSL back to say that the contractor had been informed and that they were cleaning the area and filling up the well so no water accumulates there again.

“We had been trying to get someone to clean out the plot for weeks and are glad it’s happening now,” said a resident who lives opposite the plot, asking not to be named. “Thank you The Telegraph Salt Lake!”

Breeding in CL Block

Another site that has residents up in arms is in CL Block, near CK Market. Here a 4-ft deep trench has been collecting water whenever it rains. The site is that of Star Abasan, a highrise residential complex. Work had begun last year but residents started complaining that the existing infrastructure would not be able to support the population that would move in. Following the agitation, work has been stalled for the past few months.

Krishna Chakraborty, councillor of the CL Block area, said she was aware of the problem. “I know of that water pit and my workers are going there every other day to spray pesticides,” she said.

The CL Block plot has a guard on duty, appointed by the contractor, who seconds her. “Workers indeed come and spray medicines and have asked me to pour kerosene, engine oil or diesel on the water so mosquitoes cannot lay eggs,” said Ruknath Marjit, pointing at a jerrycan.

But residents say this is not enough. “Spraying larvicide is not a permanent solution. The water must be siphoned out and the ditch covered. Several people in our block are down with dengue and we want to take no chances,” says a resident living close to the site, asking not to be named.