A day after serving notice to Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor over mosquito breeding spots at his home, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will file a case against him for not abiding by its rules.
The BMC’s insecticide team found breeding spots of yellow fever mosquito (which can spread dengue and chikungunya among other illnesses) at the actor’s private swimming pool at his home in the Juhu Tara Road area.
BMC’s executive health officer Padmaja Keskar said: “I have asked the legal department to file a court case against the actor for his negligence. The case would be filed in a day or two.”
The civic body on Friday served a notice to Kapoor under Section 381-B of Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, seeking his explanation.
“We are not going to wait for the actor’s response to our notice. We are moving ahead for action [such as collection of fines[ against him and would file a court case,” she added.
Keskar said that court cases are also being filed against a number of people whose premises were found with mosquito breeding spots.
Since January 1 this year, the civic body has filed 927 cases against offenders and collected fines amounting to Rs2.7 million (Dh147,430).
Last year, the BMC served notices to actors Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla and singer Amit Kishore Ganguli for not taking steps to prevent mosquito breeding in their residences.
After the BMC’s action on Friday, Kapoor expressed concern over the breeding spots at his home and thanked the civic body for conducting the inspection.
Intermittent showers have left pools of stagnant water in several areas of the city, providing a fertile ground for proliferation of disease-spreading mosquitoes. This, coupled with a rise in temperature, has led to increase in the cases of dengue fever in the metropolis.
According to the BMC Health Department, 122 dengue patients were being treated at hospitals in the city. More than 1,500 people have been admitted to hospitals for suspected dengue this month.
Keskar appealed to the citizens to identify and destroy mosquito-breeding spots at their residence and housing societies.
