17 dengue cases in Panvel, locals blame water woes

Navi Mumbai: As many as 17 confirmed dengue cases have been reported in Old Panvel area. Water supply issues are forcing the residents to store water, which may have resulted in breeding of mosquitoes, said civic sources.
An emergency meeting was held by PCMC on Friday to chalk out the action plan. Government Rural hospital Panvel medical superintendent Dr Nagnath Yempale said, “The preliminary NS 1 test has been confirmed but final test report is awaited.A total of 19 suspected dengue patients have been admitted to four private hospitals in Panvel namely Gune, Birmole, Sahastrabuddhe and Panvel. Few of them were admitted to hospitals last month.”
PCMC sanitary inspector Daulat Shinde said, “As per data, a total of 17 dengue cases have been confirmed in Old Panvel. Due to staff shortage the rural hospital staff are doing house-to-house survey. Areas such as Pioneer area, Hari Om Nagar are dengue-infected.”
Gune Hospital’s Dr Girish Gune said, “Three confirmed dengue patients have been admitted to our hospital. The patients include the PCMC Panvel area sanitary inspector Shailesh Gaikwad. We will send our weekly report to the government hospital on Monday.”
Parasmani CHS resident Monal Chavan said, “Few days ago fogging was done inside buildings. However, choked gutter lines with stagnant water and mosquito breeding have been noticed. Garbage pile-up is also a problem.”
NGO Citizen Unity Forum president Arun Bhise said, “My son and grandson were infected with dengue and admitted to Birmole hospital. They are still to recover completely. The CUF Nagar area is affected.”
The Old Panvel area has a population of 2 lakh and cleanliness is major concern. “Erratic water supply forces residents to store water in containers leading to mosquito breeding. Six suspected dengue cases have been reported in one CHS,” said social activist cum Panvel resident Rakesh Thakur.