Dengue May Dampen CWG

The combination of rain and rubble is a boon for mosquitoes.

It is not just alleged scamsters who are thriving on the Commonwealth Games (CWG) mess. The latest to benefit from it is the humble mosquito. Monsoon rains tend to usher in dengue fever season in the capital, which peaks in October. But, this year has been particularly bad with the number of cases officially reported already hovering around 500.

These are figures maintained by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which means the actual count could be higher. Major hospitals in the capital have already reported double the number of confirmed dengue fever cases. The MCD’s records show that the largest cluster of cases is being reported from the south and central zones. These zones cover areas where CWG preparations are on. Stagnant water at construction sites for the CWG aid the breeding of the Aedes mosquito. And an official confirmation of the symbiotic relationship between the insect and the CWG chaos comes from the highest echelons of government.

“The combination of heavy rains that has lashed the city this year and the debris created due to the ongoing construction for the upcoming Games is proving to be ideal to give rise to diseases,” Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recently said. Follow-up raids by the MCD  led to the discovery of mosquitoes breeding at all CWG sites.

About The Author

Jatin Gandhi

Jatin Gandhi has covered politics and policy for over a decade now for print, TV and the web. He is Deputy Political Editor at Open.