Kolkata dengue scare: Schools advise winter uniform

Winter has set in early in the city for a clutch of schools affiliated to the ICSE board, thanks to panic over dengue.

To prevent schoolchildren from the bite of the dengue vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the Association of ICSE Schools in West Bengal has recommended certain sartorial measures for schools in the city.

"We are spreading awareness wherever the menace is. They (students) should wear the winter uniform from now without the sweater or blazer. The awareness is on a local scale since the issue is local," Nabarun De, Secretary, Association of ICSE Schools in Bengal, told IANS.

For girls, stockings or leggings have been suggested while boys of junior sections have been advised to dress in full-length trousers. "Students are advised to don full sleeve shirts," said De.

The association has 285 member schools.

The Heritage School, in its notice dated October 21, says: "Children should go outdoors only in long-sleeve clothes. Students should wear a white full sleeved vest and the school track suit to school for the next two weeks."

Drawing flak for its handling of the dengue menace in the city, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Monday maintained it has been effectively able to control its spread. It alleged a "deliberate attempt" at misinformation about its tackling of the disease that has claimed at least 30 lives in West Bengal.

--IANS

sgh/him/bg