SINGAPORE: The rain gutters on more than half of the buildings in Little India will be removed.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has ordered this in a further bid to contain the Chikungunya virus.

Rain gutters are a breeding ground for mosquitoes. More than 1,400 larvae have been found in Little India.

So NEA said that they will be taken out, as long as building structures are not affected.

NEA added that what should be removed are those which are in poor condition or those whose building owners show clear signs that they are unwilling or unable to maintain them in proper condition.

Removing them will help NEA officers who conduct daily routine checks.

Owners who don't comply with the order to remove the gutters may be fined up to S$20,000 or be jailed for not more than three months or both. The sentence and fine will be doubled for subsequent convictions.

Another problem that NEA officers encounter is the pails that foreign workers use to store rain water.

What's more, over 10,000 foreign workers throng Little India on weekends and this makes cleaning up a challenge.

Officials said they will only stop their daily checks when no new cases are found, in 24 days.

That's the number of days needed for mosquitoes to go through two incubation cycles.

At least eight people came down with Chikungunya fever at Clive Street, near Little India in early January and this has caused business to drop by about 10 per cent.

So shopkeepers too are playing their part to maintain cleanliness.

Johnson Kang, a hotel maintenance staff, said: "Normally when we clean all the rooms, we will try to empty whatever pail there is water in it, and every now and then we will check whichever corner. At the same time we have pest control coming once in a while to spray all and clean up all the rooms." -CNA/vm