Ambulance siren muffled to curb dengue panic

Kolkata: Unable to check the dengue menace, the councillor of South Dum Dum Municipality’s ward 13 has muffled the hooters on ambulances and deployed minders in sensitive zones to muzzle the fear among residents shaken by the spate of deaths.
Councillor Prabir Pal has instructed his men to ensure that ambulances ferrying dengue patients from his ward to nursing homes and hospitals don’t use the hooters.“The sound of wailing siren make one’s heart skip a beat. It has been a trying time for everyone. We don’t want people to suffer any more. Ambulance drivers have been asked ply silently so that they do not spread further panic,” explained Jayanta (Bablu) Majumdar, one of Pal’s many henchmen who stand guard in dengue-affected lanes, minding what residents tell when they speak to the media and step in to praise the good work done by the municipality.
“We are in control. Didi, why don’t you tell them how much we have been doing to tackle the problem. Right from sprinkling bleaching powder and spraying pesticide to monitoring the construction sites for accumulation of water, the municipality is doing everything,” says Khokhon Majumdar, a minder positioned at Fakir Ghosh Lane to trail journalists on the prowl.
Malabika Ghosh, the Didi, nods in agreement. “The municipality is doing a lot. So are residents. Since the outbreak, we have kept windows shut. Mosquito repellents liquids, mats and coils are used indoors 24×7. When at home, we keep children confined to the bed so that they are inside mosquito nets. When they step out, we apply mosquito repellent creams. Floors are being swept with phenyl and other chemicals. I have even searched the internet to find ways to ward off mosquitoes from home and am trying everything possible while praying that something or the other clicks to keep the winged menace at bay,” she said.
In most households in South Dum Dum localities like Purbasthali Camp (ward 12), Purbashtali Madhugarh (ward 13) and Marwari Bagan (ward 14), items to keep mosquitoes away now top the shopping list with spends up 10 times. Fancy deodrants have given way to mosquito repellents. With so much chemicals being sprayed to control the pest, the air indoor in homes across Dum Dum hangs heavy. Inhaling the toxic vapours all day round, many children and elderly have developed breathing problems and allergies.
In Madhugarh, where even locals fear to step outside lest they get bitten by an aedes aegypti mosquito, desperate residents are even popping pills and burning incense sticks in the hope that they will ward off the dengue devil.
“The councillor has stopped the siren. But how can he control the panic at homes. No one will say how many people have died of dengue this year. What’s the use of spreading fear, reasons his men. The ambulance may have whisked away patients silently to hospitals but when they died, the families performed the shraddha ceremony. We’ve had five shraddha in this locality this year, more than ever before. And all of them, from Kartikda to Jayadi to little Sanjib, have all died prematurely of dengue. It will give you the shivers, with or without the hooter,” said Bijoya Poddar.