Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada to observe 'Dengue Drive Day' on Sunday
Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil on Friday expressed concern over the rising number of Dengue cases in the District and added that the residents need to take precautions to to prevent the disease from spreading.
Senthil urged the residents to keep a check on stagnant water, rain water storage and unattended water mainly on the terraces of the house and apartments adding that it turn into a source for the dangerous mosquito’s breeding.
Senthil also informed that more than 100 teams have been formed to counter the disease and that it is working on spreading awareness about the disease and also helping the residents in keeping check of sources of the disease in their premises and localities.
“The outbreak is mainly due to the monsoon pattern that has been very unpredictable and irregular right from the beginning. Dengue started spreading from April when 20 cases were reported in that month followed by another 20 cases in May. In June with slightly more rainfall it shot up 100 more cases and in July we already have 250 new cases of Dengue in the District” Senthil told reporters during a press conference on Friday.
Senthil further announced that Sunday will be observed as ‘Dengue Drive Day’ where the District Administration will take part in spreading awareness and will spend at least one hour to control the larvae at residential places by clearing stagnant water.
Dakshina Kannada DHO Dr. Ramakrishna Rao, Dr. Ashok Shetty, dean AJ Hospital Mangaluru and others were present during the press conference along with Deputy Commissioner.
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GBA razes down 400 houses in Yelahanka, minority families including Muslims worst affected
Bengaluru: In an incident reported from the state capital, more than 3,000 people living in Fakir Colony of the Kogilu Layout near Yelahanka were rendered homeless by the officials of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Saturday.
The officials, who said the 400 houses were constructed on encroached land, held the operation using nine tractors and nine earthmovers, razing down the houses.
They have ousted around 90 per cent of the families who had been living in the area for more than 30 years and belong to minority communities, including Muslims from the colony.
The bereaved residents have insisted that the government had provided them land in the locality to build houses and reside. “We have all official documents as well as Aadhaar cards and voter IDs as proofs. Our source of livelihood is only manual labour,” they added.
“Many of the families had mortgaged the houses to get loans from banks, but the GBA officials have razed our houses without giving any prior notice,” they said and added, “Some of the women here are pregnant, but the officers showed no concern for such people too.”
Referring to the title deeds, the residents said that the local representatives had assured them that they would be handed the documents. “So far, however, we were not told to vacate the houses. Since the houses were unexpectedly razed, our children’s documents and other valuables in the houses have been destroyed,” the residents added angrily.
They also expressed fury about representatives failing to come to their help in times of need. “They come here only to campaign and get our votes. When questioned about the propriety of destroying the houses, the police officers assaulted us,” some of them said.
Sara Saif Saufique, one of the residents in the Fakir Colony, said, “My family has been living here for three decades, but has unexpectedly lost the house since the officers did not give us notice. They came at around 4:30 am on Saturday, when we were sleeping, and started destroying the houses.”
She said with fury, further, “The officials also forcibly evicted us from the houses, without even permitting us to gather our winterwear or blankets.”
