Civic apathy: Sting menace back in Cuttack 

The Cuttack Municipal Corporation is struggling to control mosquito menace in the city.

CUTTACK: The Cuttack Municipal Corporation is struggling to control mosquito menace in the city. The mosquito density index which stood around 45 to 50 last month, has reached 65 this month leading to panic among the residents, who have been falling prey to the vector-borne disease year after year.

Density of mosquitoes is defined as the average of number of mosquitoes biting 10 persons per hour. While a density of 30 is said to be normal and 40 to be moderate, density level beyond 40 is said to be high.

Negligence on the part of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) in initiating proper and adequate measures to check the growth of mosquito population has only aggravated the problem.
Locals alleged that failure to initiate timely preventive measures like fogging, bush cutting and application of anti-larva oil in drains has led to the surge in mosquito density index.

The mosquito eradication operation was adversely affected as most of the 236 workers of 59 Wards of the Sanitation Department were preoccupied with cleaning works near the mandaps during Dussehra and Kali Puja. “The situation has worsened to such an extent that we are forced to use mosquito repellents in the afternoon,” said Gopinath Behera, a resident of Jobra.

Congress Corporator Giribala Behera said, “Poor sanitation and lack of preventive measures by the civic body are to be blamed for the rise in the number of mosquitoes in Cuttack.” Most of the drains are clogged with garbage and due to water stagnation, the drainage system has become the breeding sites for mosquitoes, she added.

Admitting that there has been a sudden rise in the mosquito population, Chairman, CMC’s standing committee on public health Ranjan Biswal said the civic body would launch massive fogging operation besides undertaking drain-cleaning and bush pruning operations simultaneously to deal with the situation.

Civic apathy
Mosquito density index has reached 65 this month
The density was 45 to 50 last month
Density level beyond 40 is said to be high

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