Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced a five-point action plan for ‘Resident Welfare Association’ (RWAs) of Delhi in its fight against dengue under the Government's '10 Hafte 10 Baje 10 Minute' campaign.
Kejriwal addressed a big gathering at Talkatora Stadium on Tuesday. Appreciating the contribution of RWAs in the development of Delhi, he said the Delhi Government is setting up a new framework for a fruitful collaboration between the RWAs and the Delhi Government.
"We did not expect such tremendous results through our '10Hafte10Baje10Minute' initiative in the city. We were told by several experts that dengue repeats its cycle in every three to four years. As city had witnessed the consequences of dengue in the year 2015 with more than 15,000 cases of dengue and 60 unfortunate deaths were reported. This is why we realized to gather the support of our people," he said, adding that it only takes 10 minutes to ensure your house is clear of any stagnant water, and that's where we came up with the concept of the campaign.
"I am confident RWAs will play an important role in the city's fight against dengue," Kejriwal tweeted.
"The huge public participation in the campaign has eradicated dengue from the city to a large extent. Only 221 cases of dengue have been reported in Delhi till Monday this year. In 2015, there were 15,000 cases. 60 people were killed. Last year, there were 2800 hundred cases," he said.
Talking about five-point action plan for the RWAs to ensure better coordination and cooperation in preventing the disease, he said for the first step, the RWAs have to ensure that the government's pamphlet on dengue prevention measures reach every households in their localities. "Second, dengue free sticker has to be delivered to every household. People can paste the sticker after inspecting their homes for clean and stagnant water on every Sunday to notify to others that their house is dengue free. Third, they can also spread the message to inspect the houses on their WhatsApp groups to encourage people to inspect their houses for dengue on Sundays. Fourth, every RWA has to issue circulars and ask residents to check their house at 10 AM every Sunday. Fifth, after inspecting their homes, RWA officials have to go to their area and convince the residents to inspect their houses at 10 AM every Sunday," he added.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also addressed the meeting. Addressing the gathering of RWA, he said that it is difficult to keep an eye on each and every corner of Delhi with the sole efforts by the government. "Everybody's support is needed to make Delhi dengue-free. My family suffered from dengue last year. I was very happy when the Chief Minister's initiated the campaign. I too inspect my home for stagnant water every Sunday. And I am hoping that you all will support us too," he said.
Minister of Health and Family Welfare Satyendra Jain, Minister of Social Welfare Rajendra Pal Gautam, and Minister of Food and Public Distribution Imran Hussain were present on the occasion.
