Thanks to the lethargy on the part of Municipal Corporation of Karimnagar (MCK) authorities, the mosquito menace has assumed alarming proportions and there has been a sharp increase in the incidence of malaria.
As authorities have not taken up fogging operations or spraying of larvicides in open drains and other water-logged places in the town, mosquito breeding appears to have increased drastically and people are spending sleepless nights.
Authorities say that Karimnagar has recorded 34 cases of malaria including eight from Karimnagar town alone. If this is the official figure, almost all hospitals in the town are flooded with patients suffering from fever and viral infections.
“I have not seen authorities take up fogging operations this year,” asserts N. Srinivas, a resident of Vavilalapalli. He suspects that the MCK authorities might have swindled the money meant for anti-malarial operations.
“The town is growing by leaps and bounds and municipal authorities collect taxes promptly, but they are not taking any interest in providing proper sanitation,” complains Chandraprabhakar of Mankammathota.
The problem is more acute in colonies on the outskirts of the town. Ramachander, a resident of Bhagathnagar, wants authorities to take up a special drive against mosquitoes.
The mosquito problem is not only affecting the health of residents, but it is also heavy on their pockets. It has now become necessary for all families to buy mosquito repellents in bulk every month along with groceries.
Sudheer Reddy of Apna Super Bazaar, says, “There has been a steady increase in the sale of mosquito repellent liquids this season,” he adds. The sale of mosquito coils, however, has come down because of the rising incidence of smoke allergy.
BJP Karimnagar town president and municipal corporator Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged that the operation of fogging machines in MCK was a big scam as authorities had swindled lakhs of rupees without operating the machines. The authorities take out the machines only when there is an outbreak of diseases for a short period and claim the bills for the entire year, he charged. When contacted, Municipal Commissioner Srikesh Lathkar said that they had discussed the issue of mosquito menace on Wednesday itself and promised to take measures to tackle the mosquito menace.
