India, Aug. 28 -- A surge in dengue and chikungunya cases has exposed a shortage of manpower in the city's mosquito (vector)-borne diseases' management and control programme, prompting the civic administration to expedite the appointment of 265 contractual workers.

Standing committee chairman Shrinath Bhimale on Thursday directed the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to complete the process of recruitment of the contractual workers on priority and deploy them first in areas where a higher number of cases has been reported.

According to the PMC report, the city has recorded 1,081 suspected dengue cases this year, 46 of which have tested positive. Dengue cases have risen sharply during the monsoon, with 410 suspected and 20 positive cases ...