The Kochi Corporation has claimed that it has stepped up mosquito-control measures after residents raised complaints of increased pest attack.
Centralised fogging operations have been intensified in all the divisions. On a given day, five divisions of the civic body will be covered. Such operations are taking place in West Kochi and central city areas. The plan is to complete one round of fogging in all the divisions within one week, said T. K. Ashraf, chairperson of the Health Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation.
Vehicle-mounted spraying machines, especially those fitted on two-wheelers, will cover the by-lanes and small roads in the city. Power sprayers would also be deployed, if required. Enough number of sprayers and enough quantities of larvicides are available in the civic body, he said.
Paper works for the recruitment of 150 labourers for strengthening pest control measures will be completed in a couple of days. These workers, led by health inspectors of the corporation, will be deployed to expand the mosquito control drive. Besides using the larvicide in drains and other areas where the larvae breed, the workers will also take out door-to-door campaigns for destroying breeding grounds of mosquitoes in houses and other buildings, he said.
Intermittent showers the city received during the past few days would have washed away the larvae from city drains, which would provide a relief to residents from pest attack, he hoped.
Residents need to support the campaign by drying up pools of water that are formed in households where mosquitoes breed. Septic tanks shall be sealed to prevent mosquitoes breeding in them. Air pipes of toilets shall be covered using nets to prevent mosquitoes that are bred in septic tanks from escaping, he suggested.
