The Food Safety Wing of the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has formed six teams to inspect water storage in commercial establishments as part of the dengue prevention measures. The teams would cover almost all rural areas of the district besides the Corporation areas.
Unsafe or open storage of fresh water is a health hazard as it provides breeding space for the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the dengue-causing flavivirus.
Designated Officer R. Kathiravan told The Hindu here on Wednesday that the teams have inspected 300 restaurants, 450 bakeries and 40 food manufacturing units in the district in the past ten days.
Commercial establishments are required to store drinking water in a safe manner.
The water tanks must not be kept open and must be closed either with a lid or clean cloth.
The district administration was reviewing the dengue prevention measures on a daily basis now with the Collector Archana Patnaik chairing a meeting of all the departments involved in this effort.
Further, the tanks or vessels must be dried in sunlight and cleaned with bleeching powder at least once in every five days.
They would also remove discarded vessels and tyres, in which rain water can accumulate, he said.
If the teams come across shops with mosquito infestation, they would pass on the information to Health Department or the Corporation for fogging.
The Designated Officer said that they had sensitised hotel owners on the need for safe storage of drinking water. Pamphlets were also being issued.
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