The Greater Chennai Corporation, in coordination with the Water Resources Department, has started dredging at the mouth of the Cooum to control mosquitoes and the spread of vector-borne diseases.
Regular dredging at the river mouths was disrupted in the past few weeks. As the dredging started this week, the mosquito menace is expected to reduce, owing to better tidal wave action and draining of river water into the sea, the civic officials said.
In the last six days, the Corporation has deployed workers to spray larvicide along 2,449 km of storm-water drains, undertook fogging on several streets. As many as 25,435 streets had been covered for the mosquito control activities in the last six days, the officials said.
Drones and boats had been deployed to spray larvicide along 437 km of the canals in various parts of the city in the last six days. “We have pumped stagnant water from storm-water drains along 436 streets to prevent breeding of mosquitoes,” said an official.
On Saturday, Mayor R. Priya launched five additional vehicles for mosquito control in the city.
The Corporation has deployed robotic vehicles for clearing water hyacinths in water ways in the city. It has requested residents to remove mosquito breeding sources on the premises of the houses. Residents had been advised to cover overhead tanks, wells and sumps to prevent mosquito breeding.
Residents have been asked to check mosquito breeding sources in refrigerators. Health department officials will penalise owners of buildings where breeding sources had been identified, a press release said.
