Kolkata plans to deploy drones to fight dengue

To identify mosquito breeding grounds

A drone that will be used by the Kolkata Corporation.

Going high-tech in its bid to curb a dengue outbreak in the city, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has now turned to drones. The civic body is planning to use drones to identify breeding grounds of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

About 40 people have died due to dengue in West Bengal till November.

Difficult to access

According to KMC officials the focus of “drone surveillance” will be mainly rooftops of multi-storey buildings including those under construction as well as bridges and flyovers.

“Our officials are often prevented by security personnel of multi-storeyed buildings from entering the premises to identify places with stagnated waters. Under-construction flyovers are also difficult to access. So we are planning to use drones to identify such breeding grounds of mosquitoes,” Mayor in Council (Health) of KMC Atin Ghosh told

The Hindu .

He also said that if stagnated water is spotted in any building premises, the KMC will first issue a notice to the owners to remove it. “If the owners do not take necessary steps in due time we will initiate legal measures against them,” said Mr. Ghosh.

KMC authorities are yet to decide on how many drones will be required for the purpose and which areas to focus on. They conducted a trial run on Thursday on the southern fringes of the city.