An expert team from the Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC), Puducherry, will reach Kochi next month to finalise the scientific strategies to control the mosquito population in the city.
The team led by Ashwani Kumar, Director of the Centre, is expected to reach Kochi during the second week of April.
The Kochi Corporation had earlier sought the support of the centre for the scientific evaluation of the existing vector control practices in the city and to suggest modifications. A few experts from the Centre had toured the city as part of the preliminary assessment.
The preliminary report submitted by the experts is understood to have suggested measures for the control of the breeding population of mosquitoes. Around 20% of the vector population breeds in open spaces in the city whereas ideal breeding conditions existed for them in the soak pits and septic tanks of commercial as well as residential buildings. The pots used for planting also provided a good breeding environment. Drains with stagnant water and waste dumps in canals in the city are also conducive for the breeding of the vector, according to the report.
The experts are also understood to have expressed their doubts about the efficacy of the fogging carried out in the city to eliminate adult mosquitoes.
It is after a hiatus of nearly three decades that the city corporation is associating with the Centre to address the perennial issue of mosquito menace.
The civic administration had also announced the launch of an action plan for vector control in the annual budget presented last week.
A special team of entomologists will be formed in the city with the support of the Centre. The cooperation of the State Virology Department will also be sought for the project. The efficacy of the larvicide used in the city will be evaluated with the help of experts from the Centre and future action plan will be formulated by strictly following the inputs provided by the Centre, according to the budget document.
The civic administration has also announced the setting up of two vector control labs in the city. It has earmarked ₹12 crore for the projects.
