Byculla has max no of mosquito breeding spots

With the monsoon just round the corner, there are some worrying signs about the spread of monsoon related ailments. Nearly 1,700 breeding spots of dengue and 700 spots of malaria causing mosquitoes have been found in the city in the last five months. Byculla (E ward) is the most vulnerable area with largest number of mosquito breeding spots.

According to the civic officials, the BMC had undertaken a mosquito-prevention drive, in which 39.87 lakh houses were visited during January to May. During this drive, larvae of Aedes aegypti mosquito, which causes dengue, was found at 1,969 places, whereas larvae of Anaphelis mosquito, which causes malaria, was found at 690 spots.

“All these breeding spots have been destroyed. In addition to this, a fine of Rs 9.20 lakh has also been collected from the offenders,” said a senior civic official.

According to the civic officials, most of the areas where mosquito breeding was found are housing societies and complexes, which are located mostly in posh localities of the city. Residents of these societies do not follow dengue preventive measures and furthermore do not co-operate with civic officials for preventing the spread of vector borne diseases like malaria and dengue.

During the inspection carried out by civic teams, mosquito breeding was found mostly in wells, water storage tanks, drums, dishes of flowerpots, bottled water plants, artificial fountains, air conditioning trays, water coolers, odd articles like tyres, tins, cups, plastic bottles, among others.