CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is preparing to transition from fogging to drone operations to tackle the mosquito menace. Corporation officials said the civic body is gearing up to switch to full-fledged drone operations in January and residents will be able to notice a difference almost immediately.
Mosquitoes have increased in T Nagar, Adyar, Velachery, Sowcarpet and Vyasarpadi, among other places. T Nagar residents said they have not seen regular fogging. “For the last few weeks, no one in our house has been able to sleep despite burning several coils. We suspect mosquitoes to be emerging from the broken manhole cover of the stormwater drain here,” V Sathya Narayanan of Ram Nagar North Extension 2nd street in Velachery said.
“Our first area of focus will be waterbodies. Once that is done, we will carry out drone operations in stormwater drains. We will also be mapping which stormwater drains carry water throughout the year, especially during April-May when there is no rain, to figure out illegal sewage connections,” said a corporation officer. Along with this, they will also be logging temperatures ideal for mosquito breeding to work out more interventions.
Drones were employed twice before as pilots, and officials said they recorded around 95% efficiency. “When we asked residents along waterbodies for feedback after the pilot, they were very positive. Since we will be carrying out daily operations, we are expecting all city residents to find relief from mosquitoes since we will be targeting them extensively at the larval stage itself.”
From January first week, drones will be used based on a daily schedule. For instance, on Mondays in waterbodies in Thiruvottiyur, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar and Valasaravakkam zones and Tuesdays in Manali, Ambattur and Alandur zones. The larval density prior to drone larvicides and a day after spraying will be recorded.