'We've won the battle against dengue': Arvind Kejriwal says less than 1,100 cases, no deaths reported in capital this year

New Delhi: Less than 1,100 cases of dengue and no deaths due to the mosquito-borne disease have been reported so far this year in the city, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday. In a video message posted on Twitter, he said this was an achievement in comparison to 2015 when over 15,000 dengue cases had been recorded and 60 people had died in the national capital. Kejriwal lauded residents’ efforts in following the ‘10-hafte, 10-baje, 10-minute’ campaign launched by him on 1 September. It required people to look for stagnant water in and around their homes for ten minutes at 10 am every Sunday for ten weeks and dispose it of to prevent breeding of mosquito larvae. Congratulating Delhiites “for winning the battle against dengue,” the chief minister said: “I am proud of you Delhi. There are more than 100 countries affected by dengue. Nobody could understand the cure for dengue but Delhi showed the way”. [caption id=“attachment_6610411” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. PTI[/caption] He said that such campaigns should be run not only in other states of the country but also worldwide. “There are many dengue-affected places. I hope that such campaigns are run worldwide,” he said. “I want to congratulate Delhiites. We started a war against dengue 10 weeks back by starting a campaign. Today is the last Sunday under the campaign when we have to check our homes. We have won the battle against dengue,” Kejriwal said in the video. He said that till last week, less than 1,100 reported cases of the disease and no deaths due to it were recorded during this year. Crediting residents of Delhi for the reduction in the number of fatalities due to dengue, he said: “Delhiites participated in a big way. Even celebrities, film personalities, sportspersons, journalists, people from all walks of life blessed us and sent their wishes. Even people from outside sent their wishes and wished us success”. Bollywood actors Emran Hashmi, Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhaskar, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, sportspersons including Kapil Dev and several senior journalists, including Rajdeep Sardesai, Nidhi Razdan, Faye D’Souza, have supported the campaign. Till 2 November, at least 1,069 cases of dengue were reported this year in the national capital. As per a report released on 4 November by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), the number of malaria cases recorded till 2 November had also risen to 617. Of the total dengue cases, there were 787 in October, the highest in any month so far this year, while in the same month 249 malaria cases were also recorded, according to the report. It said that at least 143 cases of chikungunya have also been reported this year. Last year, 2,798 dengue cases and four deaths were recorded by the SDMC. It had also reported 473 cases of malaria and 165 cases of chikungunya. Both the Delhi government and local bodies have been making efforts to raise awareness about precautions to ensure that there is no breeding of mosquito larvae. Dengue mosquito larvae breed in clear, standing water, while those of malaria thrive even in dirty water.