Residents of the capital have been facing a rise in number of mosquitoes for the last couple of weeks as the two city corporation in Dhaka had failed to take necessary measures in checking mosquito breeding.
Many city dwellers blamed authorities of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) for not taking measures before the mosquito population started breeding in this season, hampering their daily lives and heightening the risk of spreading mosquito-borne diseases.
Parts of the capital most affected by the mosquito menace include Shanir Akhra, Jatrabari, Sutrapur, Dholaipar, Dholaikhal, Sadarghat, Lalbagh, Kamrangirchar, Hazaribagh, Kalabagan, Shukrabad, Mirpur, Uttara, Badda, Banashri, Rampura, Moghbazar and Kamlapur among other areas.
Morzina Begum, a resident of Sadarghat area, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: “For the last two weeks, the mosquito problem has become unbearable. It is now impossible to sleep at night without mosquito nets.”
She also said she heard that the city corporation had sprayed insecticides in the area recently, but did not witness the activity with her own eyes.
Sheikh Malek, a resident of Badda, said: “The city corporation and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority were not cleaning puddles, canals and drains in the city, which had now become breeding places for mosquitoes.”
However, officials concerned at the DSCC and DNCC claimed that anti-mosquito drives were being conducted routinely during the breeding season, which begins in October-November and continues until January.
Meanwhile, DSCC yesterday inaugurated a week-long anti-mosquito campaign, termed as Crush Programme, across 58 wards under its territory.
The city corporation officials also said the routine anti-mosquito work will also continue alongside the Crush Programme.
They said two types of pesticides – larvicide and adulticide – were being used to control mosquitoes.
Larvicides were being applied between 8am and 11am to halt growth of mosquito larvaes while adulticides were being sprayed between 5pm to 7pm to exterminate adult mosquitoes.
However, the DNCC is yet to start any such campaign against mosquitoes till now.
When contacted, DNCC Chief Health Officer KM Masud Ahsan told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that they will also start the Crush Programme immediately, though he was unable to mention a fixed date for starting the anti-mosquito campaign.
