THE CONSTITUTION RIVER, known for its lifeless water and pungent smell, is in the cross hairs of the Environmental Health Department.
The aim is to keep all types of mosquitoes at bay especially in light of three recorded dengue deaths and almost 200 cases of dengue fever caused by the aedes aegypti mosquito.
Desmond King, deputy chief environmental officer, told the SATURDAY SUN the clean-up thrust at River Road was part of a three-month 11-point programme.
He said every year the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and the Ministry of Education on the western side of the Constitution River had problems with mosquitoes, “and it primarily deals with the water being covered with bush where you get settlements and mosquitoes residing and breeding among the bush.”
“The project last year was very good because we did a clean-up from the Globe cinema right down to the endpoint where the water ends close to the sea.”
King said the Drainage Unit and a private concessionaire were pulled in last year to be part of the project and after the clean-up “we did not have mosquito problems at the Ministry of Education nor the Queen Elizabeth Hospital”.The health official is hoping that his department will have similar success this time around and is yet to hear of any complaints for this year.
He described the programme being conducted at River Road as proactive and is claiming success in controlling mosquitoes.
When the hospital was contacted for a comment, Guy Hewitt, chairman of the QEH board, said he was confident that management of the QEH in consultation with the Ministry of Health would take the necessary steps to minimise accumulation of water around the hospital. An environmental health officer is stationed at the hospital.
The Environmental Department has also embraced residential areas and utility companies in the three-month plan.
“We will be visiting persons who have nurseries, persons who keep tyres or anything that will be a major source of mosquito breeding. We try to respond to complaints about mosquitoes within 48 hours by the home owners,” King said.