VIJAYAWADA: Fumigation will no longer be used in the city to check mosquito menace. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) will, henceforth, direct all its energies towards anti-larva operations by using a variety of tried and tested methods.

In view of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's recent direction to the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad to stop fogging, which is done by using malathion that has been banned in a number of countries, the VMC too has decided to follow suit.

Unhealthy

"Fogging to kill mosquitoes has been found to be not only totally ineffective and expensive but unhealthy too. On the contrary, anti-larvae operations by using pyrethrum are effective and will have no side effects on human health," VMC Commissioner Natarajan Gulzar says.

In addition to spraying pyrethrum at places where large-scale larvae breeding takes place, such as the low-lying areas abutting railway tracks, the corporation will also be releasing a large number of Gambusia fish in water bodies. The fish is known for eating away larvae. Oil balls to choke oxygen supply to larvae and Baytex spray under culverts are other methods that the VMC will employ.

According to Mr. Gulzar, there were instances of the corporation spending almost Rs.50,000 a day for fogging operations. On an average, the corporation spends Rs.15,000 a day for fogging, as malathion is costly and will have to be mixed with petrol for spraying. "A lot of pilferage of money by our staff takes place in fogging operations because of the high expenditure involved," he reasons.

Scaled down

Although the expenditure has been brought down by changing the strategy, the corporation is able to bring down the number of positive cases of malaria in nine high-risk hilly areas in the city, Mr. Gulzar says.

Drop in malaria cases

An analysis of positive cases of malaria in Mallikarunjapet, Samarangam Chowk, Kothapet (two areas), Gollapalemgattu, Wynchpeta, Fish Market, Rajarajeswaripeta, Bavajipeta and Bhramarambapuram during January - May 2005 and January - May 2006 shows that the number has dropped from 718 to 322.

"These areas contribute almost 75 per cent of the total of all vector-borne diseases in the city. We have concentrated on these areas and there is no fear of chikungunya breaking out either," Mr. Gulzar maintains. Twenty five samples of suspected chikungunya sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune, , have been tested negative.

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