With the eco-friendly drive to catch mosquito larvae along the Yamuna coming to an end on Tuesday, the Capital’s municipal corporations said complaints about mosquitoes breeding in the area had reduced.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation had initiated the drive in May, before the South and East corporations joined in on July 11.
Using boats to travel the length of the river, the staff of the civic bodies scooped out mosquito larvae with nets and then deposited it in underground pits to kill the larvae. This marked a departure from the usual chemical-based insecticides sprayed on larvae.
Speaking on the banks of the Yamuna, North Corporation Commissioner P.K. Gupta said large-scale breeding of culex mosquito, which does not cause dengue or malaria, was found along the river because of hyacinth in the water.
Yamuna level up
In another development, the water level in the Yamuna crossed the warning level for the first time this season due to discharge of water from the Hathni Kund Barrage in Haryana. Responding to the situation, the Delhi government deployed several motor boats to evacuate riverside dwellers.
“Due to discharge of large volume of water from Hathni Kund Barrage in Haryana, the water level in the Yamuna has gone up to 204.22 m as recorded at 1 p.m.,” a Central Water Commission official said. The warning level for Yamuna is 204 m, while 204.83 m is danger level. The highest water level of 207.49 m in Yamuna was recorded in 1978.
“The water level initially rose, but since rains have not taken place that much, the water level is receding,” the official said. On Saturday, 1,60,000 cusec water was released from Hathni Kund Barrage, they said.
This drive marked a departure from the usual chemical-based insecticides sprayed on larvae
