The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Plan in place to fight mosquitoes

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Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Plan in place to fight mosquitoes

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Faced with mounting public pressure to check mosquito menace, the City Corporation has finalised an intensive vector control programme.

Ward-level health and sanitation committees are being primed for the participatory programme which would involve residents associations, Kudumbasree units, private institutions and government departments. The Corporation is mobilising workers and stocking up on equipment and chemicals to be used for fogging and spraying.

Temporary hands will be appointed on daily wage. Residents associations which have sprayers will be supplied with chemicals. The Corporation recently acquired a set of hand-held fogging machines to be used in residential areas.

Fund allocation

An amount of Rs. 20,000 will be spent on the project in each of the 86 wards under the Corporation. The funds will be shared by the National Rural Health Mission and the Corporation.

Chairman of the Corporation’s standing committee on Health G.R. Anil said a ward-level mapping programme would be taken up to eliminate breeding places of mosquitoes. Sub committees headed by Health Inspectors would be constituted for this. Residents associations too would be involved.

Another drive would be taken up to clean up clogged canals and gutters. Boats fitted with fogging equipment would be used in the stagnant stretches of the Parvathy Puthanar and Amayizhanjan canals. Corporation health workers will spray insecticide in the areas prone to waterlogging.

Mr. Anil said the Corporation would seek the help of institutions and residents associations in the drive. “Road widening work has contributed to the menace. The debris remains by the roadside. The drains are blocked, leading to water stagnation. The trenches left behind after laying cables also cause harm. We have requested the Public Works Department and the Irrigation Department to level the ruts and clear the blocked drains at the earliest.”

Markets will also be a thrust area of the drive. Health Inspectors have been directed to report on accumulation of waste water in markets. Stern action would be taken against traders found dumping waste in drains and canals.

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