The Greater Chennai Corporation has fined food delivery giant Zomato for discarding bags used by its delivery executives on the terrace of its Chetpet office in Chennai. They have been asked to shell out Rs 1 lakh for failing to destroy mosquito breeding sources.
During an inspection at Zomato’s Chetpet office in Chennai on October 18, health officials said they found food delivery bags discarded across the terrace of the building, reported India Today. According to them, the bags had stagnant water in them and had become breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Zomato, on its part, has acknowledged receiving the challan and has said that they will deposit the fine on October 23.
Notably, with Northeast monsoon hitting early in Tamil Nadu this year, there has been a rise in fear of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases including malaria, zika virus, chikungunya, Yellow fever among others. Already, 3,400 people have tested positive for dengue in Tamil Nadu this year and according to the health department, the numbers of cases could increase to around 4,500 due to short spells of rain showers, The News Minute had earlier reported.
In 2018, a total of 4,486 people were tested positive for dengue in Tamil Nadu. The state reported 13 deaths last year.
This year, dengue has claimed lives of three people in Tamil Nadu. However, two more deaths, each in Vellore and Tiruvallur due to fever, are being evaluated and will be added to the existing numbers of deaths if the cause is confirmed to be dengue fever.
Meanwhile, the civic bodies are imposing fines across the on residents and owners who fail to take precaution and prevent the breeding of disease spreading mosquitoes. According to media reports, the Health Department has estimated that a total of Rs 1.5 crore has been collected as fine from across the state due to fines collected for residents and other places failing to take precautions to curb breeding of mosquitoes. Of these, Rs 40 lakh have been collected from Chennai alone.
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