Tiruchi Corporation has launched an outreach programme across schools and colleges in the city to promote responsible solid waste management and strengthen disease prevention measures.

The initiative is based on a two-point agenda that links proper waste management and dengue prevention as interconnected public health measures. It aims at sensitising students to the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, and create awareness about dengue prevention and control.

Students will be encouraged to act as “health ambassadors”, carry the message home, and promote proper waste segregation and the prevention of mosquito-breeding sources in their neighbourhoods.

According to City Health Officer M. Karthikeyan, students will be educated on the importance of segregating waste at source, the reasons for doing so, and how segregated waste is subsequently processed.

The programme will highlight the connection between improper waste disposal and the spread of vector-borne diseases. Officials will explain how waste dumped on roadsides and on plots can collect rainwater and become potential breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes, which transmit dengue.

As part of the programme, one teacher from each school will be identified as a nodal person to monitor the institution’s premises and ensure that waste is not left unattended. Regular monitoring will help schools identify and eliminate stagnant water and other potential mosquito-breeding sites within their campuses, the official said.

The Corporation plans to extend the awareness drive to all government and private educational institutions in the city.

Published - August 23, 2026 07:06 pm IST