THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited (SCTL) is installing the Smart Mosquito Density System across the city under the the Smart City Project of the city corporation. This will help in preventing vector-borne diseases and alerting the corporation health wing and other authorities concerned regarding the density, location and the type of mosquito population in an area. As a result, immediate steps can be taken to eradicate it. The system will be installed by the end of this month.
The system is being installed at 25 locations identified by the city corporation in consultation with the health department that recently conducted a survey on the areas that are more prone to vector-borne diseases. “Many vector-borne diseases such as dengue are posing fresh challenges to the health wing and local bodies. The system will help the health wing to conduct selective fumigation of the areas based on the density and type of mosquito population instead of blind fumigation,” said a corporation official.
The total cost of the project is `50 lakh and each sensor unit— GSM (Global System for Mobile-based)— unit costs `2 lakh. “These systems have been deployed in many other cities such as Hyderabad and have proved to be effective in identifying mosquito breeding grounds and hotspots thereby providing the authorities with the necessary information to prevent and eradicate vector-borne diseases,” said Sanoop Gopikrishna, general manager, SCTL.
The official added that the system comprises smart mosquito sensors which are connected to the dashboard set up in the Integrated Command and Control Centre at the corporation. “The sensors will help detect mosquito-breeding grounds which will include markets, hospitals and water bodies. Some of the places identified include Putharikandam and Sree Chitra Thirunal Park,” said Sanoop.The Smart Mosquito Density System will operate autonomously and use state-of-the-art Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The facility will also be available on smartphones and web applications for further information.