Jisha Surya
Thiruvananthapuram: Pest control, like waste management, has become a major headache for local bodies. Whenever mosquito menace increases, the local bodies have to face severe criticism for its laxity in carrying out routine vector control measures. While most local bodies try out various measures such as fogging, larvae control, etc. Kadinamkulam panchayat has gone one step ahead and is planning to distribute mosquito swatter bats to its residents.
The area has witnessed an exponential rise in the number of mosquitoes. Some of the villagers attribute the reason for increase in number of mosquitoes to depletion of water in Kadinamkulam lake. “There have been several complaints against the rising menace of mosquitoes. So, we convened a meeting of health officials last month. Though there is no case of spread of vector-borne diseases, we decided to intensify anti-mosquito drive. The panchayat has decided to begin the drive with fogging. As a second step, we have plans to deliver mosquito bats,” said Kadinamkulam panchayat president Leela Antony.
Leela said they are planning to deliver the bats using the panchayat fund. “We are planning to buy bats at Rs 450 each. Though bats are available at lower cost, there is no guarantee for such models,” she told TOI. “Our plan is to deliver 50 bats to each ward in the first phase. There are 23 wards under the panchayats. Priority will be given to houses which have children below the age of five,” Leela said.
Leela said the reason for sudden rise in mosquito population was unknown. “We started receiving complaints for the past one-and-a-half month. We have assigned field workers for activities such as fogging,” Leela said. She added that the proposal to deliver electric bats was at its preliminary stage.
Villagers said there was an unprecedented dip in the water level at Kadinamkulam lake and the shallow water might be providing a better breeding ground for mosquitoes. The village is surrounded by Kadinamkulam lake in the east and Arabian sea in the west.
Thiruvananthapuram: Pest control, like waste management, has become a major headache for local bodies. Whenever mosquito menace increases, the local bodies have to face severe criticism for its laxity in carrying out routine vector control measures. While most local bodies try out various measures such as fogging, larvae control, etc. Kadinamkulam panchayat has gone one step ahead and is planning to distribute mosquito swatter bats to its residents.
The area has witnessed an exponential rise in the number of mosquitoes. Some of the villagers attribute the reason for increase in number of mosquitoes to depletion of water in Kadinamkulam lake. “There have been several complaints against the rising menace of mosquitoes. So, we convened a meeting of health officials last month. Though there is no case of spread of vector-borne diseases, we decided to intensify anti-mosquito drive. The panchayat has decided to begin the drive with fogging. As a second step, we have plans to deliver mosquito bats,” said Kadinamkulam panchayat president Leela Antony.
Leela said they are planning to deliver the bats using the panchayat fund. “We are planning to buy bats at Rs 450 each. Though bats are available at lower cost, there is no guarantee for such models,” she told TOI. “Our plan is to deliver 50 bats to each ward in the first phase. There are 23 wards under the panchayats. Priority will be given to houses which have children below the age of five,” Leela said.
Leela said the reason for sudden rise in mosquito population was unknown. “We started receiving complaints for the past one-and-a-half month. We have assigned field workers for activities such as fogging,” Leela said. She added that the proposal to deliver electric bats was at its preliminary stage.
Villagers said there was an unprecedented dip in the water level at Kadinamkulam lake and the shallow water might be providing a better breeding ground for mosquitoes. The village is surrounded by Kadinamkulam lake in the east and Arabian sea in the west.
Hi, nice and interesting bolg with lot of informations. We also manufacture and supply Mosquito swatter bats .
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.