KOCHI: With the mosquito menace in the city on an all-time high, the Kochi Corporation is planning to execute more feasible steps to tackle the issue. As the first step, the civic body is mulling to introduce hand-held fogging machines for all the 74 wards.
“The idea is to purchase advanced hand-held fogging machines for each division in the Corporation. The machines will be allotted to the respective division councillors who will ensure that the medicines are sprayed in their localities with the help of a contingency worker,” said Kochi Corporation Health Standing Committee chairman T K Ashraf.
He said that discussions are on to execute the project by utilising the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) funds. The advanced hand-held fogging machine is expected to cost `38,000 per unit. “However, the decision to purchase the fogging machines will only be finalised after obtaining the Corporation Council’s approval,” he said. At present, the Corporation depends upon the fogging machines that are attached to jeeps and good carriers. “This mechanism is costlier and requires more manpower. It is difficult to make sure that the fogging covers all the divisions every day. Hence we are forced to think about an alternative solution,” Ashraf said. The hand-held fogging machines are more fuel-efficient.
Ashraf said that a meeting will be convened on February 10 by the Health Standing Committee to discuss and put a stop to the unhygienic habits of the public that lead to breeding of mosquitoes. “We will hold a meeting with the representatives of various residents’ associations. It is through the open air pipes of toilets in the city that mosquitoes mostly breed. We will ask the residents’ associations to make sure that air pipes are covered with nets. They should also make sure that there are no leaks and cracks in septic tanks,” he said. “The new set of effective insecticides for fogging will be purchased
before March.”