Drones To Be Deployed In Bhubaneswar Again For Mosquito Control

Bhubaneswar: With dengue-positive cases in Odisha capital nearing 1000-mark, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to repeat last year’s exercise of mosquito control by deploying drones in the city.

“BMC is taking all possible measures to mitigate dengue risks through surveillance of potential dengue mosquito breeding spots, fogging, spraying larvae oil and creating awareness among people. We are also going to deploy drones to spray chemicals in inaccessible locations like last year,” said Bhubaneswar Mayor Sulochana Das.

According to sources, the drones will be deployed in inaccessible locations like abandoned plots, narrow lanes, drains, slums and household surroundings. However, the number of drones and the days for which these been pressed into service is yet to be finalised.

This came a day after the cvic body formed ward-level team to carry out awareness campaign to ensure community involvement in preventing spread of dengue. The BMC officials will also visit schools to educate children about dengue prevention, waste segregation and utilisation, and maintaining cleanliness within a 5-meter radius of their homes or organisations.

The surveillance and awareness campaign till August 15. From the following day, individual households and commercial establishments will be penalised if they allow water to stagnate or garbage to pile up as these can potentially act as breeding ground for mosquitoes. The BMC has decided to impose a penalty of Rs 1,000 & Rs 5,000 on residents and commercial establishments and institutions, respectively, if potential dengue mosquito breeding sources are found on their premises.

The civic body has already taken up larvicide intervention in N-1, N-2, N-3 and N-4 areas of Nayapalli, which have a huge load of 80 cases, nearly 10% of the total cases, and Acharya Vihar, Unit-IX, Jayadeb Vihar, Patia and Niladri Vihar.