Media exaggerated dengue menace in Mumbai: Mayor

Mumbai Mayor Snehal Ambekar today claimed that the media had exaggerated the intensity of the dengue outbreak in the city, only to clarify later that she had been "misconstrued".
"Dengue is an epidemic, but the media has blown it out of proportions. You (the media) are making it look like a very big problem, which is why I visited the Rajawadi hospital to see the dengue patients," Ambekar said today after her visit to the suburban hospital.
According to the municipal corporation, the disease has claimed twelve lives in the city and over 700 cases of infection have been reported till the first week of November.

Ambekar said that instead of targeting the administration, the media should inspect the houses and look out for stagnant water where mosquitoes breed.
"Though the number of reported cases has increased this year, the number of deaths has gone down," she claimed.
However, later, speaking to a news channel, the newly elected Mayor said she had been misconstrued, and the media had failed to provide a comprehensive coverage of the the corporation's efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.
"I was only trying to say that there are many people who are admitted to hospital only as a suspected case, but they fear they have dengue. Who has put this fear in them? Media has not provided a complete picture of the existing situation. BMC is trying every possible solution to curb this menace," Ambekar said.