With the spurt in mosquito-borne diseases, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation is going to start 14 new testing centres in a week.

Mayor of South MCD, Anamika, said the corporation has stepped up its drive against dengue after rainfall over the last two weeks, and these centres will help in detection of cases.

Delhi has already received nearly seven times more rainfall in May than what it generally gets this month. The normal standard has been 19.7 mm, but this year the city received 144.8 mm rainfall in May due to western disturbances and the aftereffects of cyclone Tauktae.

Twenty-nine dengue cases have been recorded in Delhi till May 29 this year, the highest in the January-May period in the last four years, according to a report released by the South MCD on Monday.

Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, and may stretch till mid-December. Dengue mosquito larvae breed in clear standing water, while those of malaria thrive even in dirty water.

A senior official of South MCD said the dengue test would cost between Rs 200 and Rs 500 in private facilities but free of cost at MCD facilities.

The centres will be opened in Lajpat Nagar Colony Hospital, Poornima Sethi Hospital in Kalkaji, Tilak Nagar hospital, polyclinics in Tughlakabad, Mehrauli and Munirka. It will also be set up at primary health centre in Fatehpur Beri, polyclinic in Mehrauli, health center in Najafgarh, polyclinic in Masjid Moth and Ghumanhera, dispensary in Bijwasan, health centre in Uttam Nagar, and polyclinic in Badarpur.