With the rainy season around the corner, the Chennai Corporation is gearing up to deal with its annual mosquito challenge. The civic body is taking steps to ensure the winged menace is kept under check, to prevent an outbreak of malaria and dengue during the rains. Apart from regular fogging operations, the Corporation is also taking up special fogging drives every week, say officials.
The fogging drives are to take place on Tuesday mornings and Thursday evening severy week. “The special fogging drive will carry on till the rains are over. We already have a plan for fogging operations in every ward, now we have also formulated special plans for the fogging drive,” says a highly placed source.
The Corporation is hoping to tackle the mosquito problem at two levels — control of adult mosquito population and source reduction. The fogging operations are intended to address the adult mosquito population.
Corporation officials have also been in overdrive to reduce space for mosquitoes to breed. The official told City Express that the civic body’s malaria workers have been instructed to spray larvicides on waterways and clear any waste and containers that could turn into breeding areas. “We are clearing old tyres, waste plastic buckets, coconut shells and the like. When water collects in them, they automatically turn into breeding grounds. We have cleared around 200 tonnes of old unused tyres from the city. We are also focusing on clearing plastic containers,” says an official.
The Corporation also has plans to pay special attention to pockets in each zone which are more prone to mosquito breeding and malaria and dengue contraction. Door-to-door checking and campaigning is being planned for these pockets.
Officials add that they expect the extended areas to be a challenge this year. “We have only recently taken on 800 malaria workers on contract for the extended areas. We don’t have any records for last year, so ths year is going to be an acid test,” the official said, adding that it was inside homes that malaria and dengue mosquitoes are most likely to breed.
“We are trying to create awareness among residents to avoid storing water in the open,” said the official.
Corporation sources also said they are reminding private hospitals to report cases of communicable diseases related to the rains to Corporation officials. Only then can pointed action be taken to fight the mosquitoes, they said.
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