After the recent Jharkhand High Court (HC) order to adopt effective strategy in curbing the mosquitoes menace, RMC health section team is ready with the new action plan. From checking the chemical composition to covering slums, open drainage on priority basis, the weekly fogging dose will also be increased in each ward to control the situation.
According to the present plan, once in a week, at each ward fogging is done but after receiving fresh consignment of fogging machines, every alternate days, fogging will be carried out under the ward supervisor, said, RMC, Health Officer, Dr. Kiran Kumari.
“Since we are not having adequate fogging machines, so at times it becomes difficult to do fogging regularly. However, with extra deployment of trained labourers in each ward around 30 per cent of mosquitos’ larvae breeding have been destroyed. The HC has asked the civic body to cover at least 50 per cent primarily focusing on slum areas, clogged drainage where possibilities of mosquito breeding is rampant,” added Kumari.
Despite constant reminders, earlier no serious attempts were made besides just issuing only directives. After HC intervention on a PIl which was filed by a local resident recently, the civic body has changed the chemicals, trained the labourers and has increased the dose of toxics being utilised.
“A team is monitoring the chemical composition being sprayed to destroy the insecticides and are also training them on various components. Increasing the number of labourers from 150 to 225, the work is being carried out in full pace in every ward,” said Kumari.
She also claimed that since labourers are not going inside every individual household, for many residents, RMC attempts seem quite feeble in order to destroy the major breeding points. looking at the urgency, RMC officials have also drafted out a proposal to knock every house before taking up the exercise and spraying insecticides in that specific locality.
On Tuesday, in the presence of RMC Health Officer, fogging was carried out at ward number 14, 20, 50 and 55. “We are also brainstorming on the issue that whether fogging can be done in slums twice a day or not as it completely depends upon the availability of vehicles and labourers,” Health Officer said. However, the tender which was floated few days back to purchase 20 auto-mounted fogging machines is still to get a bidder.