The GHMC is deploying drones and mosquito zapper machines to address the perennial issue of mosquitoes in and around river Musi.
Mosquito zappers with a range of one acre area have been installed in Bapu Ghat, Lakshmi Nagar Colony and Jiyaguda areas.
These machines will attract adult mosquitoes within their range, and incinerate them.
Three of these machines had been experimented with in the High Court where mosquitoes were a problem owing to proximity to the Musi, before they were deployed in the aforementioned areas, officials said.
The GHMC is paying special focus on control of mosquito spread in the Musi, as the river flows 21 kilometres through the city, covering four of the six zones, including Khairatabad, Charminar, Secunderabad and L. B. Nagar, and 14 divisions in them.
Anti-larval and fogging operations will be intensified in areas abutting the river such as Errakunta lake, Puranapul, Nayapul, Shivaji bridge, Bhadrapur Housing Board Colony, N. M. Guda, H. V. Colony, Miralam tank, Palle cheruvu, and Attapur.
A total of 80,000 residents live in over 16,000 houses surrounding the river, which exposes them to the breeding centre of mosquitoes and vector-borne diseases such as malaria. To address the issue, three units with 50 workers have been formed by the Entomology department. To monitor anti-larval operations and fogging in the river, two senior entomologists and two assistant entomologists have been deployed.
One drone is being used to spray the anti-larval chemical on the river, while six vehicle mounted fogging machines too have been pressed into the operations, besides 15 portable fogging machines.
The Musi Development Corporation is helping by taking up de-silting and cleaning operations of the river, through 15 earth-moving machines. This would prevent stagnation of sewage in the river, a statement by the GHMC said.
