The Hindu

• Administrator has suggested penalties up to Rs.10,000 
• Notices served on 1,000 violators till September
• 1,095 are found infected by malaria in this year

Mangalore, Dec 14: The commercial establishments and households in the city who are not adhering to malaria control policies may not be able to take it easy any longer as Mangalore City Corporation is contemplating on imposing hefty fines on violators.

The corporation had been imposing fines ranging from Rs. 50 to Rs. 500 for violations and only in a few extreme cases, it had charged up to Rs. 1,000, sources in the corporation said.

M. Maheshwar Rao, administrator of the corporation, has suggested the authorities levy Rs. 10,000 as fine on the owners of commercial establishments and Rs. 5,000 on owners of houses who fail to implement the malaria control measures, A. Padmanabha, assistant health officer in the corporation, said.

The corporation is facing the challenge of eradicating malaria from the city. As the fine being imposed on violators has been minimal, people appear to be negligent in avoiding water logging on their premises. According to Mr. Padmanabaha, the authorities have filed 166 cases and collected Rs. 36,070 as fine from violators between January and November this year. The corporation had issued notices to 1,000 violators during the same period.

Cause for concern

He said that in 2006, 15,664 malaria cases had been detected out of 90,183 blood smears collected from private hospitals, laboratories, Government Wenlock Hospital and so on. Of the 9,412 blood smears collected till September this year, as many as 1,095 positive cases had been detected. In all, 4,377 blood smears were collected from private hospitals, 1,959 from Government Wenlock Hospital and District Health Laboratory, and 3,076 from corporation laboratories.

Kadri, Nanthur, Bejai, Kodiyalguttu, Bunts Hostel area, Kudroli, Car Street, Dongarakeri, Bendoorwell, Falnir, Balmatta, Kankanady Jeppu Bappal, and Gorigudda areas have been identified as high risk areas for malaria.

The sources said that as per the by-law, the corporation can impose a fine of Rs. 50 for violating malaria control measures. If the owner of the premises fails to adhere to the norms, then it can impose Rs. 15 as fine for every day till the measures are implemented.