Councillors of the Corporation complained that their respective wards were facing mosquito and fly menace again, as the hand fogging machines that had been distributed to the wards had not been repaired, after they had stopped working.
The Corporation, as a part of the anti-dengue drive, which was intensified towards the end of 2012, had purchased 60 hand fogging machines at a cost of `50,000 each, for every ward of the local body. However, the councillors complained that the machines had stopped working within a month of purchase.
R K Naveenkumar, councillor of ward-9 said, “The machine given to my ward stopped working within a month and has not been repaired till date.” He said the fogging machines should be used regularly in all the seasons to avoid mosquito breeding. He also noted that the mosquitoes that spread dengue breed only in clean water, so the fogging machines ought to be used throughout the year.
Corporation engineer, E Devakumar said, “The company that supplied the fogging machines to Vellore Corporation had assured one year warranty and free maintenance.” Since, the
company was supplying its products to other local bodies and private business establishments across the State, the members were not always available in Vellore to look into the maintenance. However, they visited Vellore on a regular basis, he said.
The Corporation had also allotted `2 lakh for the purchase of 1,000 cylinders to be utilised for the fogging machines, Devakumar said. Apart from the hand fogging machines, the Corporation also has two cycle-mounted machines and four autorickshaw-mounted machines. These machines were being used in places where rainwater canals were desilted for restoration work.