Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed the state government to use drones to identify mosquito breeding grounds on the rooftops of high-rise buildings as a part of the anti-larvae drive.
It may be mentioned that last week, the Thai government had appreciated the proposal taken up by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to use drones to identify mosquito breeding grounds on the rooftops of high-rise buildings.
Atin Ghosh, Deputy Mayor of KMC and Dr Tapan Mukherjee had been to Bangkok to attend an international conference on the prevention of dengue last week. The state Health department has allotted Rs 7.5 crore to speed up anti-larvae drives.
It may be recalled that Banerjee had instructed state Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim to deploy drones in North 24-Parganas, where there has been outbreak of dengue in some pockets. Many people living in Ashoknagar, Habra, Barrackpore and Naihati are suffering from dengue.
Mamata Banerjee has asked all the civic bodies to conduct anti-larvae drives seriously. The civic workers often fail to reach the rooftops of high-rise buildings, where temporary water patches, empty plastic tea cups and water containers serve as potential mosquito breeding grounds.
The roofs are under the control of the builders, who do not give access to the civic staff. Drones will help them identify the areas that have become mosquito breeding grounds.
Over the years, the breeding season of the mosquitoes has changed. This has caused serious problems to the civic bodies in carrying out anti-larvae drives.
Hakim said that Ashok-nagar municipality has already taken up measures in this connection. Drones will be used in all the districts, which will help prevent the spread of dengue, he maintained.