KOCHI: Rain or no rain, Kochi continues to face mosquito menace. The main reason for this is the stagnation of water and dirt in the drains.
Lack of proper cleaning — especially in the last two years when the corporation was busy dealing with the pandemic — has made things worse.
To add to this, as part of the beautification process, the drainas have been covered completely in many areas, making cleaning and desilting processes almost impossible.
If the corporation has to desilt the drains in these areas, the workers will have to break the pavements first, says councillor Entrita Veliparambil. She had raised the issue at the council meeting, pointing out the growing mosquito menace in the city and seeking a long-lasting solution. The councillors demanded a system to open and clean the drains, which are closed with tiles and have no provision for manholes.
“Nearly 75 per cent of the drains are covered. Some of them are permanently closed. When they could be opened, workers used to desilt them at least once in three months. Every budget allocates money for cleaning drains, but nothing is done. None of the projects are executed. If slabs are pulled out for desilting, the public can see that. Now, no such activities are taking place,” alleged the councillor.
She added that there are several nuisances attached to this, the most important one being the breeding of mosquitoes. “The public also should be more responsible and react to this apathy. They should question why mosquito eradication works are not happening in Kochi,”
Entrita said.