CHENNAI: In the last few weeks, the residents in many parts of the city have been reporting a surge in mosquitoes which coincides with an apparent lack of fogging operations.
The civic body has received 2,212 complaints related to mosquito menace in the last three months, including 664 recorded within just 20 days in January, according to official sources.
Speaking to TNIE, a corporation domestic breeding checker said it was true that door-todoor mosquito hand fogging had not been carried out in many parts of the city for over two months, as majority workers were diverted for SIR work.
“Mosquitoes breed mostly in Storm Water Drains and canals due to stagnant water but fogging operations along the SWD network were also not taken up during this period,” he said.
For 2025-26, the city corporation had allocated 16.40 crore on anti-mosquito operations using compressor spray fogging, power spray fogging machines, hand-held fogging units, mini fogging machines for Storm Water Drains, and drones for canals and other waterways. Of this, 13 crore was allocated exclusively for pesticides, including the purchase of larvicides. In addition, under the urban malaria scheme, which focuses on reducing mosquito breeding through antilarval measures, and source reduction to control malarial diseases, the GCC allocated an estimated amount of Rs 1.08 crore.
Sandhya Vedullapalli, a resident of Anna Nagar, said, “It has been over two months since mosquito fogging, either handheld or vehicle-mounted, was carried out in our area.”
In 2022, the GCC introduced the use of drones to spray mosquito larvicide in major waterbodies and canals across the city at an estimated cost of Rs 24.7 lakh a month as a pilot project, during which the officials claimed the initiative led to nearly a 90% reduction in mosquito breeding.
Another resident from Rajaram street, Cooperative Nagar in Adambakkam, said, “It has become extremely difficult to sleep at night owing to incessant mosquito bites.”
TK Shanmugam, president of FNCRWA said, “The effectiveness of the anti-mosquito measure depends on continuous operations. More scientific methods must be deployed rather than depending only on fogging,” he said.
Responding to these concerns, a corporation official told TNIE the contract for drone-based spraying had ended about a week ago and that the civic body is planning to extend it. The official said the GCC has already deployed 92 vehicle-mounted mosquito fogging units across the city. The official added mosquitoes breeding during December and January are predominantly Culex species, which are classified primarily as a nuisance.
Meanwhile, a video went viral when a corporation staff placed mosquito nets beneath the silt catch pits lids for curb ing mosquito menace. However, a corporation official told TNIE this was not a city-wide initiative by GCC, but a ward-level trial undertaken in parts of north Chennai.