Mosquitoe menace up

​Hyderabad: Alarm bells are ringing across several localities in the jurisdiction following the rise in mosquito menace that have led to several cases of malaria and dengue fever. Many have been rushed to Fever Hospital and Niloufer Hospital in the city.

Unfortunately, even as there is a fear among the people, officials manning the Entomology Department of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMA) appear oblivious to the scary issue. The approach has been so pathetically sordid that a hugely successful preventive measure like fogging has gone for a toss.

Officials take recourse in the usual pretexts like ‘staff crunch’ and ‘lack of’ or ‘dysfunctional’ portable fogging machines. Fogging or anti-larvae operations have not been conducted in most areas across the city.

There has been no urgency in this regard despite reports of as many as 66 malaria, 65 dengue and 40 cholera cases in the last week.

The official data reveals that about 30 of the 134 portable fogging machines have become dysfunctional for several months. To make matters worse and that too in winter, a season that is particularly vulnerable for illnesses, staff working under the Entomology wing has been deputed to other departments.

The department has an outsourced workforce of 2,250. Most of them have been deputed to fix damaged roads. With no efforts being made to take up fogging activity, and with most roads getting inundated (perfect breeding places), mosquitoes have multiplied, leaving the denizens cursing themselves.

“We have a mosquito problem 365 days a year. We regularly complain about this to officials, but there are no measures to save us from this daily problem," rues MD Fayaz, a resident from Bharath Nagar in Amberpet. N Shashanka, a government employee, said: "Due to recent rainfall, the sanitation wing has turned a blind eye to clear the garbage. There has been no response from the GHMC officials.”

Even as people across the city have been complaining of mosquito menace, the municipal corporation continued to be in a denial mode and claim that the situation is under complete control. Circle 4A and 4B, Circle 5, Circle 9A and Circle 9B, Circle 14B and Circle 18 are among the worst affected areas.

“We have conducted special drives in 2,336 schools in the city,” a senior official said. The civic body will further intensify steps to curb mosquitoes through regular fogging and conduct extensive campaigns along with residential welfare associations and town level federations in the affected areas.

Since there was a shortage of functional fogging machines, they have requested the higher authorities to sanction one fogging machine to each ward. The dysfunctional fogging machines would be repaired and new machines may arrive in less than two weeks, he said.

The GHMC officials claim that the corporation had spent about Rs 58,46,493 from January 1 to March 31 and Rs 15,80,000 from April 1 to August 1. The civic body has spent Rs 22, 43,750 on Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis (BTI), Rs 11, 77,243 on Mosquito Larvicidal Oil (MLO), Rs 13,50,000 on Malathion technical material (MLT) and Rs 10,75,500 on Fethion from January 1 to March 31. In June it was around 3, 50,000 for MLT and Rs 2, 28,000 for kerosene in July.