The Hindu : Front Page : Chennai biggest market for mosquito repellents

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 04, 2006

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Chennai biggest market for mosquito repellents

Karthik Subramanian

The task of tackling mosquito menace costs around Rs. 180 crore

HANDY DEVICE: A mosquito swatter on sale. — Photo : N. Sridharan

CHENNAI: The mosquito bite is hurting Chennai residents in more ways than one: the city is reportedly the biggest market in the country for mosquito repellents, closely followed by Bangalore.

Residents spend anything between Rs. 15 crore and Rs. 20 crore every month, buying mosquito repellents such as coils, mats, sprays and ointments, according to an industry estimate.

And, if you add Rs. 2 crore spent by the Chennai Corporation on procuring insecticides, larvicides and fogging equipment, the task of tackling the mosquito menace costs around Rs. 180 crore every year.

Even by a conservative estimate, the expenditure is much more than what is spent on conventional ways of controlling mosquito breeding, including desilting of waterways and prevention of breeding of mosquitoes in fresh water.

Chennai Corporation officials say they have been able to drastically bring down incidence of malaria and filaria over the past decade.

The civic agency often faces flak for not carrying out fogging operations. But a senior official says a more holistic approach is required.

The Chikungunya outbreak is reported to be on the decline. But officials worry that it could become an annual occurrence.

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