BMC Targets 10,659 Dengue Spots In Mumbai To Check Mosquito Breeding

Following the expected outbreak of dengue and malaria in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has started with anti-larval treatment in several areas of Mumbai city.. Through a door-to-door drive over the past two weeks, the civic team has discovered and eliminated 10,659 dengue spots and 1,578 breeding sites for malaria larvae.

As per information, the BMC served notice to 7,693 residential and commercial complexes between January to June. Among these, 262 cases were filed in court for those failing to prevent mosquito breeding. The civic body has collected a fine of Rs 6.41 lakh.

The insecticide department manually locates and eliminates mosquito breeding sites each year to lessen the threat. The Worli, Lower Parel, and Mahalaxmi mill regions are inaccessible, thus the BMC uses drones to spray disinfectants there. In July, there was a lot of rain in the city. However, August has so far had a dry spell.

If water remains stagnant for more than a week, mosquito breeding may occur. The civic organisation's pesticide division has begun making house calls across the city. According to the data, the department of insecticides has checked 13,220 homes and 35,435 places where Anopheles mosquitoes that cause malaria reproduce. Between 1 to 13 August, 7,41,519 homes and 7,91,750 containers were inspected for Aedes mosquitoes that spread dengue.

The staff of the insecticide department also looks for additional mosquito breeding grounds, such as containers, tyres, strange objects, coconut shells, etc., and destroys them. The local government has hired 1,213 volunteers to remove mosquito breeding grounds.