Official quarters occupied by government servants in the Kandy district, which have turned into dengue mosquito breeding grounds due to poor maintenance, will be taken over from the occupants by terminating their lease agreements, Kandy GA H. M. P. Hitisekara said.
Hitisekara was addressing a meeting of the Kandy District Dengue Prevention Committee presided by Central Province Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake, at the Kandy Kachcheri on November 27.
Hitisekara said there had been a sharp decrease in the incidence of dengue in the Kandy district in October, compared with September. This was largely due to the action by dengue eradication committees set up at regional and rural level. He said these committees should be further strengthened by engaging the business community in their membership.
Hitisekara said the Kandy district reported 519 dengue patients in October and the number of deaths had been restricted to one due to the untiring efforts of the health staff.
Steps had also been taken to file legal action against 207 persons who had dengue mosquito breeding grounds in their premises. He said 168 fogging rounds had been conducted in the district so far.
Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake appreciated the service rendered by all including medical officers of health, PHIs and other health staff in combating dengue. Their service was all the more valuable when considering the shortage of PHIs in the district, he said.
Steps would be taken to resolve this problem by recruiting more PHIs, he said.
District Director of Health Services Dr. A.M.S. Weerabandara, Epidemiologist Dr. Sameera Hewage and other committee members attended the meeting.