Picture used for representational purpose only

CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Corporation has fined Zomato 1 lakh for leaving discarded bags its delivery executives use for carrying food on the terrace of the firm's premises on McNichols Road at Chetpet. This takes the total amount of fines collected by the civic agency as part of its dengue prevention drive since October 10 to 20 lakh.

Corporation officials said bags strewn by the food aggregator on its rooftop was a breeding source for dengue-causing aedes mosquitoes. The open bags had rainwater stagnating, turning them into added-breeding sources.

With number of dengue cases going up in Chennai, the Greater Chennai Corporation has increased vector control measures, including house visits. Institutions and individuals are fined up to 1 lakh for "mosquitogenic conditions".

Since October 10, officials have fined more than 387 offenders and collected 20.74 lakh. The money will go into the corporation's treasury. "Our aim is not to generate revenue through this but to create awareness on how mosquito breeding can happen inside our own houses," said corporation deputy commissioner of health Madhusudhan Reddy.

Chennai has been seeing dengue cases throughout the year and scientists say the disease is likely to spread and become more frequent in the future due to the convenient habitat and weather conditions in Chennai. "In dry weather conditions, the eggs laid by the aedes manage to survive. When it rains, they seem to multiply with a vengeance at a much quicker rate," said director of public health Dr K Kolandaisamy. "So it is important for us to keep our environment clean," he said.

On Friday, health officials visited the office of Zomato on McNichols Road as part of their daily routine visit. "We received information about a dengue case in the area. We usually climb on top of the tallest building to look into the neighbouring terraces. Zomato had several discarded bags on its rooftop. We have issued a challan for 1lakh fine," a senior official said. Zomato has agreed to pay the fine and keep the premises clean.

