Communicable diseases control campaign in Lucknow from July 1

An extensive two-month campaign would be launched from July 1 to prevent communicable diseases like dengue, malaria, and chikungunya in the state capital.

Various departments will jointly conduct door-to-door awareness campaign on disease prevention. Special attention would be given to areas prone to waterlogging and poorly maintained slum areas.

Also, the Food and Drug Administration department will initiate campaign against the sale of open food items, ensuring cleanliness at food stalls and shops.

Discussions regarding the campaign were held in a meeting headed by divisional commissioner Roshan Jacob which was attended by additional director of health Dr GP Gupta, joint development commissioner KK Singh, chief medical officer, and others.

The ‘Stop Diarrhea Campaign’ will run for the next two months, with directives to ensure the availability of ORS and zinc tablets through ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, and primary schools. The divisional commissioner also emphasized on ensuring 100% availability of fogging equipment, anti-larval medicines, and other necessary supplies, with no tolerance for negligence.

The divisional commissioner stressed on the importance of preventing waterlogging and related diseases by ensuring clean water supply and covering open drains.

During the meeting, the officials decided to go for the testing of quality of drinking water. Hand pumps with contaminated water should be marked with red coding, they said.

Further, a campaign for cleaning vacant plots, and issuing notices to owners of plots with overgrown vegetation and garbage will be undertaken. If owners fail to clean these plots, the department will ensure its cleaning and the owners will have to pay for the work.

The officials of Animal Husbandry Department were directed to maintain regular cleanliness in gaushalas (cow shelters) to prevent mosquito breeding and water stagnation. The chief medical officer was directed to ensure the appointment of ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwives) at Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) as required.