Kolkata’s dengue-control operation will continue through the Puja holidays, with health department teams inspecting closed schools, colleges, government offices and puja pandals for stagnant water and mosquito larvae, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata.
The inspections will cover premises that remain shut during the festival period, when stagnant water can collect in buildings and their surrounding areas without routine maintenance. Officials will check whether water has accumulated and conduct larval-control measures wherever necessary. The drive will cover schools, colleges and government offices across the state during the holidays.
Special teams will also visit puja pandals, including on Saptami and Ashtami, to examine bamboo structures, tarpaulins and other parts of the installations where water may collect. The health department’s teams will monitor large pandals and fairs near them as part of the dengue-control operation.
Rapid response teams are being formed at the municipal level. Their work will include surveillance around major puja sites and nearby public areas, where large gatherings and temporary structures increase the number of locations requiring inspection during the festival period.
The health department has also directed officials to maintain contact with dengue patients recovering at home. Health officials will call such patients daily to check on their condition. The reported instructions also state that patients seeking admission for dengue should not be denied admission. Action will be taken if a hospital or nursing home turns away a patient, according to the report.
Private hospitals and nursing homes will be required to provide daily fever-test reports during the Puja days. The reports will cover patients who undergo dengue testing for fever and are intended to support monitoring of infections during the period when government offices and educational institutions remain closed.
The department has issued detailed instructions and is expected to hold another district-level meeting on dengue before the Puja celebrations. The measures come as dengue cases continue to be reported in the state. The report cited cases in several parts of north Kolkata, as well as in the suburbs and districts adjoining the city.
The operation places closed public institutions and temporary festival infrastructure within the same surveillance system. Instead of limiting inspections to residential neighbourhoods, health teams will examine locations that may accumulate water during the holiday period and coordinate case monitoring with hospitals, nursing homes and municipal response teams. Further operational details are expected to emerge from the district-level meeting before the celebrations.
