GHMC’s Entomology wing is resorting to ‘make believe notices’ in order to enforce the weekly protocol of emptying stagnant water in the households to prevent breeding of Aedes aegypti mosquito that causes dengue fever.
Entomology officials checking random homes, as part of the inspections, are issuing handwritten notices to residents in whose houses larvae are found in stored water.
Penalties
The notices are for payment of penalties ranging between ₹200 and ₹500 for allowing the dengue mosquito breeding and not following protocol as explained by Entomology workers and staff.
“They are just pretend notices to implant dengue discipline in people, as September is the month when the cases peak. With sporadic rains, already the weather is highly conducive for the growth of Aedes mosquito, and it is impossible for the Entomology staff to carry out weekly anti-larval operations in each and every home,” an official from the Entomology department informed.
Each of the GHMC’s 1,628 anti-larval operators has been given the responsibility of three colonies, in which they tour explaining the weekly protocol for eradicating Aedes larvae. Stored or stagnant water needs to be emptied on the particular day, which kills the larvae, thus breaking the mosquito’s lifecycle.
“We are also distributing pamphlets and pasting stickers on the doors explaining the process and the reason. Unfortunately, people scarcely pay heed. That’s why we had to devise this method,” reveals the officer.
While concerns are raised over the notices which may lead to corrupt practices among the Entomology workers, the officer assures that they are not official notices and no action will be taken to actually collect the penalties.
