Prioritizing a deeper knowledge of vector management, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has decided to impart training to the 100-days workers and the vector control inspectors across 144 wards.
The initiative is one-of-a-kind in KMC history and is aimed at enhancing the knowledge of the people working at ground level.
The training programme was started by the civic body on 18 March and is to continue till 24 April at the vector-control department in Moulali. The training is being imparted not only to the 100-day workers deployed under the West Bengal Urban Employment Scheme of the civic body but also to the vector control inspectors at the borough and ward levels. A total of 1,900 trainees are to be given training by the vector control department of the KMC.
According to the chief entomologist of KMC, Debashish Biswas, in the present set-up, some of the 100-day workers have the responsibility of creating awareness among citizens on vector-borne diseases like dengue. The awareness programme is carried out at ward-level and the information education and communication (IEC) workers have to work with masses trying to explain to them the dos and don’ts of the vector control management. As informed by sources in the health department of the KMC, so far, there was no formal or proper training of these workers.
The civic body, now, has decided to provide them with practical and theoretical training to these ground level workers. “For example, the IES workers generally know what mosquito larvae look like. During the training at the vector research lab, they would be able to see what the larva looks like under a digital microscope,” said Mr Biswas. “This would equip them with in-depth information of vector management,” he added.