After the deadly wave of Coronavirus, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) is now battling yet another big problem — mosquito menace — with its residents raising their eyebrows at the city authorities.
“A widespread invasion by mosquitoes has frustrated us all as it’s happening in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and hospitals are struggling to treat patients, including those of Dengue and Covid,” said Rezaul Karim, a private company executive living in Mirpur-6 area.
Generally, he said, the mosquito population increases during summer and monsoon because of heavy rains accompanied by floodwater. “And places with rainwater are the perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes.”
But the city dwellers are not getting relief from the mosquito infestation even in cold weather of December as the steps taken by the DNCC are said to be too inadequate.
The DNCC authorities, however, claim that they are doing everything necessary to deal with the situation.
The city dwellers in a number of areas under the DNCC alleged that the mosquitoes are spreading fast mainly due to the inability of the city corporation to destroy the breeding grounds of mosquitoes.
People cannot control the invasion of their homes by mosquitoes with just mosquito nets, coils or electric bats. Even spraying mosquito repellent does not work as a remedy, they said.
The mosquito menace has turned worse this year compared to previous years due to the prolonged monsoon.
Mosquitoes are everywhere, including homes, offices, courts, educational institutions, workplaces and even in moving vehicles in the city, according to the city dwellers.
Dhaka is now reeling under a dengue crisis, a disease caused by the bite of Ades Mosquito, they said.
DNCC’s allocation for mosquito control
The Dhaka North City Corporation allocates crores of Taka every year to control mosquito menace. It allocated Tk 110 crore for the 2021-22 FY to deal with the problem, according to the DNCC’s budget announcement.
Of the amount, Tk 45 crore was set aside to procure pesticides, Tk 3.50 crore for clearing weeds and hyacinths, Tk3 crore for implementation of mosquito control programmes, Tk 27 crore for hiring beyond DNCC staff in mosquito control drives and Tk 4 crore for combing operations. Another amount of Tk 25 crore was earmarked for procuring mosquito control equipment.
Growing grievances
Information have it that the residents of Bhatara, Kuril, Bashundhara, Badda, Baridhara, Gulshan, Banani, Tejgaon, Mohakhali, Malibagh, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Mirpur, Uttara and Gabtali of North City are suffering more with the mosquito problem than any other areas.
Akbar Ali, who lives in Bashundhara residential area, said, “Bashundhara is fantastic as a residential area but many people don’t want to stay there due to the mosquito problem. Living here, you’ve to go under the mosquito net right in the evening!”
He went on saying, “Any DNCC drive or programme to curb the mosquito menace in Bashundhara area has never caught my eyes.”
Ruhul Amin of Bhatara area told UNB, “We’re extremely exasperated at mosquito menace. The mosquito has taken hold of the city.”
There is no effective role from the city authorities in containing mosquitoes except fogging on the streets which is nothing but an ‘eyewash’, alleged Ruhul.
Abdullah Al Mehedi, a resident of Badda, said mosquito invasion has become a common phenomenon in this area. “Although we’ve taken various measures to avoid mosquito bites, even if it is temporary, mosquito menace can be seen again.”
Faruque Rahman, a resident of Shewrapara, suggested that city corporations should carry out mosquito control drives throughout the year. “Occasional drives are not enough in any way. The fact is that the city corporation is unable to play any effective role in curbing the menace.”
DNCC’s position
Asked whether the DNCC has failed to contain mosquito menace, DNCC Chief Health Officer Brigadier General Md Jobaidur Rahman told UNB, “No, we haven’t. We’re working.”
“It’s not only city corporations but also the government, semi-government institutions and citizens also have the responsibility of controlling this menace. Mosquitoes cannot be controlled at all, but they can be brought to a tolerable level,” Jobaidur said.
He also said a special drive will be carried out in every ward of DNCC to ease the problem.
DNCC chief executive officer (additional secretary) Md Selim Reza said Aedes mosquitoes are not supposed to be seen at this time. “Even then we’re working on it. We’re also working to deal with the Culex mosquito. We’ve taken various plans to destroy the mosquito breeding grounds.”
He went on saying, “We’ve taken an initiative to clean up every waterbody in North City which is under the government, and those which are private will have to be cleaned up by the owners. Otherwise, we’ll panelize them.”
Reza said about 1,000 workers are working in our 54 wards to control mosquitoes. “Every ward is being monitored. Even then, if there’s a complaint somewhere, we’ll respond to it.”
Asked about why there is no effective measure in Bashundhara area to control mosquitoes, he said, “Bashundhara residential area is not under our city corporation. So, we cannot provide any service.”
“However, we’ve written to Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk) to bring Bashundhara residential area under the north city corporation,” said Selim Reza.
‘Not true’, says mayor
Asked about the increasing mosquito population, DNCC Mayor Md Atiqul Islam told UNB that this was not true. Mosquitoes are under control now.
“We’ve taken several steps to destroy mosquito larvae in the breeding grounds. Regular monitoring is there in each ward as we’re committed to bringing relief to urban life,” he said.
The mayor said, “We’re conducting a cleaning operation as well as fogging repellant in 54 wards of DNCC both in the morning and the afternoon.”
Ministry’s monitoring
Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam said two city corporations in Dhaka are working to contain the mosquito menace. “We’re also monitoring round the clock.”
The minister, however, said city corporations must play an effective role in mosquito control. “If someone’s negligence in mosquito control is noticed, the ministry will take immediate steps.”
Source: United News of Bangladesh