Fogging taken up in 1,254 houses, buildings: MCC

The Mangaluru City Corporation has decided to take up fogging operations at 41 grids and areas as a part of the drive against dengue.

The grids and areas – where a large number of dengue cases were reported – include 1,098 houses, 27 apartments and 129 other buildings.

Corporation Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Gayathri Nayak spoke during a phone-in programme organised at the Prajavani – DH editorial office at Balmatta on Tuesday.

The officer said that 6,008 houses, 587 commercial places and 50 other buildings were sprayed as part of the campaign. As many as 182 roads were also covered in the Corporation jurisdiction, as part of the source deduction.

She said that 95 drains and underground drains had been cleared. In addition, 51 mosquito-breeding sites were cleared by the Corporation officials.

“Up to 80 open spaces and public places have been surveyed and 94 sources of mosquito breeding have been destroyed. A team of health workers has carried out a survey of 99 construction sites and 17 other areas to check the breeding of mosquitoes,” she added.

A penalty of Rs 3 lakh was collected from people who had let water stagnate as it aided mosquito-breeding, she said.

“An image of an abandoned building project near Leela Mansion, opposite TMA Pai International Convention Centre in Kodialbail, has gone viral on social media as a big centre for mosquito-breeding. Officials have pumped out the stagnant water and there are no larvae on the site now,” Nayak said.

“During the Dengue Dry Day campaign held on Sunday, an abandoned vase near the government quarters of the Zilla Panchayat was found with five to six mosquito larvae in it. Mosquitoes breed in freshwater that remains stagnant anywhere in our surroundings. Even a discarded rice bag facilitates mosquito-breeding,” she explained.

She appealed to the public to destroy all mosquito-breeding sites in their surroundings, to prevent the spread of vector-borne diseases.