BMC levies fine to prevent mosquito breeding

Mumbai: Now that the monsoons have arrived in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced its decision to levy hefty fines to prevent mosquito breeding due to water stagnation in the city. The civic body’s anti-mosquito breeding drive is on in full swing and it has seized material that contributes to water stagnation from all 24 wards of Mumbai, said its insecticide department.

The BMC has stipulated fines ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 for violation of this rule.  The BMC officials stated, that last year, a fine of around Rs 3 lakh was collected from people who had failed to take measures to prevent mosquito breeding in their areas.

The BMC officials visited different slum pockets, societies and seized material like rubber tyres and pots, which serve as potential mosquito breeding ground due to water stagnation. Each breeding spot can have 150-200 eggs raising concerns about the spread of mosquitoes.

Talking to The Asian Age, insecticide officer Rajan Naringrekar said, “The drive will continue for about a week. We have warned all concerned not to store water in such a way that it could lead to stagnation, which will eventually lead to breeding of mosquitoes.”

He added, “We have also informed residents about the do’s and don’ts to prevent malaria, dengue and other diseases. The move is part of the approach to curb the spread of vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria, both of which spread during the monsoon.”

The number of breeding spots of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread dengue, malaria and chikungunya, spike during monsoon as stagnant rainwater, gets collected. Aedes aegypti is known as a “container-breeding mosquito” because it likes to lay eggs in and around standing water.

In 2017, the BMC had recorded 17 dengue deaths in the city, which was the highest in the state.