Mantralaya precinct hit by dengue, malaria scare

Metro 3 work currently going on in south Mumbai

The Metro 3 work seems to have laid low some of the state's top bureaucrats and ministers who stay in the plush Mantralaya precinct. After families residing in the twin towers Suruchi and Suniti close by started being hit by dengue and malaria, BMC conducted an inspection of the Metro 3 pits and found larvae of the dengue virus in them. The BMC is expected to serve notice to the Metro authorities by Thursday.

Sources said the larvae of the dengue virus was also found in a canteen in the vicinity and the back area of a neighbouring auditorium. The area is frequented by lakhs of officegoers every day, visitors, the chief minister and his council of ministers. The scare could turn into an alarming problem for civic authorities if not tamed as the footfall will increase further during the monsoon session of state legislature that begins from June 17 at the Vidhan Bhavan.

Last week, the municipal health department team had to go deep into the metro pits to inspect and collect water samples, and fogging the underground construction area. Municipal authorities had a meeting with Metro's construction company and the officers of the promoting agency on Tuesday. In a similar scare last year, the dengue larvae were found in a building near the Cricket Club of India where IAS and IPS officers have their official residences.

According to a bureaucrat, an IAS officer, her politician husband and son returned home a couple of days ago from the hospital after getting treated for malaria and dengue. The husband was affected by both dengue and malaria fever. In the same building another family was affected. The head of this family is a senior bureaucrat, now associated with environment department in a higher capacity. The incident came to light when the pathologist who ran blood tests on the affected families informed the BMC health department, in standard operating procedure.

The bureaucrats, who is in the know of the matter, told mid-day that the scare remained, and needed to be tackled as some ministers, too, stay in the same complex and neighbourhood. "Someone or the other in our complex and the neighbouring buildings is affected by fever-like ailments. Our domestic help who stays in the vicinity says that her locality too is affected by fever. Our case was worst as all of us had to go to the hospital. We have been advised a long rest," said the officer.

Notice to be sent to Metro 3, says civic chief

Municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi confirmed the incident. He said the insecticide officer has been told to inspect the breeding spots again and take anti-larval measures. He said the first detection was an outcome of BMC's inspection and that a formal letter to Metro 3 authorities had also been sent. "A meeting with Metro 3 officials was held on Tuesday and they were directed to take preventive measures." He said notices under section 381 would be issued by Thursday to Metro3 and all others responsible for breeding spots. As far as the entire affected area is concerned, the pest control department is pressed into service and anti-larval and fogging work is carried out every day, he said.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates