Mosquito-proof coolers fail to take off over lack of publicity

There have been a few takers for the ‘mosquito-proof desert cooler’ developed over seven years ago by National Centre for Disease Control to check vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria in the city.

The project failed to take off due to lack of publicity, said a senior official with National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

In a bid to arrest the rising number of dengue cases, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has taken upon itself to spread awareness among masses by publicising ‘mosquito-proof coolers’ as ‘dengue-free coolers’. The municipality launched an eco-friendly ‘anti-larva’ drive from its City Zone on Thursday.

Normal coolers can be converted into ‘dengue-free coolers’ by placing a net above the water tank so that mosquitoes cannot lay eggs in there. Health experts also demonstrated how leaves of plant Agave Americana can be used to destroy larvae.

The extract of the plant can be poured into the water tank instead of a larvicide - temephos granules, petrol or diesel. It has the potential to kill the larva from zero to eight hours.

Chairperson of Medical Relief and Public Health Committee Surekha Gupta said that saplings of Agave Americana plant will be grown on a mass scale at the corporation’s nurseries so that they can be distributed to public.

She added that dengue cannot be prevented without the cooperation of people and urged them to install nets in their coolers or buy the ‘dengue-free coolers’ to combat the menace of vector-borne diseases in the city.

Additional Commissioner (Health), North Corporation, Pankaj Kumar Singh said dengue is endemic in Delhi and as many as 15,867 cases were reported last year. Of which, 60 patients had died. He added that water tank attracts mosquitoes including Aedes aegypti, which causes dengue and chikungunya. So it should be covered with the net.

Municipal Commissioner Praveen Gupta said a ‘dengue-free cooler’, designed by the NCDC, tries to separate mosquitoes from clean water which is conducive for breeding.

The official with National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said that they have trained a few manufactures in Delhi to assemble ‘mosquito-proof cooler’ which is nearly Rs 1,000 costlier than an ordinary cooler. “But one manufaturer backed a few months ago saying that the demand of ‘mosquito-proof cooler’ is too low in Delhi,” the official added.