No dengue death in Delhi this year: Kejriwal govt

New Delhi: Delhi government on Saturday announced zero death in the national capital due to dengue this year so far, giving credit to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's campaign against the mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus.

The announcement comes as it is going to organise the ninth week of '10 Hafte 10 Baje, 10 Minute' anti-dengue campaign on Sunday with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing the citizen to join the movement.

"This is the second last week of the campaign and due to the aggressive campaign by the Delhi government this year no dengue-related death has been reported in the national capital," the government said in a statement.

This week Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain also informed that no dengue-related death has been reported in the national capital this year and credited Kejriwal government's anti-dengue campaign for this.

"Delhi people did it! No death due to dengue this year. There is also a sharp fall in number of cases compared to figures reported last year. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's campaign -- '10 hafte 10 baje 10 minute' -- has been made a success by you all," Jain had tweeted.

As per the Delhi government statement, the Delhi model of fighting dengue is getting applauded across the country and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan recently asked a question about the campaign to a contestant by playing a voice clip of the Delhi Chief Minister in the popular television show KBC.

Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal earlier had urged citizens here for their collective efforts against the disease, saying "we have to stop the breeding of dengue mosquitoes and protect our family and the entire Delhi from Dengue."

Kejriwal on last Sunday had also declared that dengue was "under control" in the national capital like previous year.

Last week, the anti-dengue campaign of the Delhi government got support from celebrities such as Shankar Mahadevan, who encouraged the citizens of Delhi to religiously follow the dengue prevention guidelines such as inspecting their residences for signs of stagnant water, draining the accumulated water or adding a layer of oil or petrol to it to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.

The Delhi government this year launched a Dengue helpline -- 01123300012 -- and a WhatsApp helpline -- 8595920530 -- to assist the general public.