Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Vector-control measures to be intensified

Special Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram: Faced with mounting public pressure to tackle the mosquito menace, the City Corporation is planning to augment its vector control weaponry. A meeting of officials from the Corporation and the Health Department on Friday discussed the idea of saline flushing of drains and gutters, and introduction of fish into the canals running through the city.

According to the proposal, which will be submitted to the Corporation Council for clearance, tanker lorries will bring sea water to flush out the drains and gutters. Mosquito larvae do not survive in saline water. The second proposal is to introduce fishlings into the mosquito breeding centres in the polluted canals. The guppy species of fish known for devouring the larvae will be introduced into the water on an experimental basis.

The meeting decided to intensify spraying and fogging activities in all the wards and take steps to prevent waterlogging. Preventive drugs against vector-borne diseases will be distributed.

The meeting also decided to keep a tab on migrant labourers and tourists who might be harbouring vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever and chikungunya.

Presiding over the meeting, Mayor C. Jayan Babu said officials in the Corporation's Health section would be directed to convene zonal-level meetings to finalise the campaign against the mosquito menace.

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