Mosquito menace returns to haunt Bengalureans

BENGALURU: Apart from rising temperature, Bengalureans are now dealing with another menace: surge in mosquito population.
Citizen group Whitefield Rising took to Twitter on Sunday, claiming, “We have been straight up just killing mosquitoes tonight. What is with this infestation across Whitefield?”
Replying to the post, several people said there had been a drastic rise in the number of mosquitoes, not just in Whitefield but across the city.Many attributed it to open drains and black spots, while others pointed fingers at last week’s showers.
“The number of mosquitoes in my neighbourhood has increased drastically in the last few months due to inefficient solid waste management. Since the roads are littered with garbage, they have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes,” said Shubham Singh, a resident of Yelachenahalli, south Bengaluru.
Besides the change in weather as well as civic issues such as open drains and garbage dumping, the problem was aggravated by the recent rainfall, which led to stagnation of water in several places across the city.
“On 5th Main, HSR Layout, there are two open stormwater drains, which are now home to hundreds of mosquitoes... I came to know that the Palike had stopped fumigation due to risk to people’s health,” said B N R Reddy, chairman of the Federation of HSR Layout Residents’ Welfare Associations.
BBMP chief health officer (public health) Dr M N Lokesh claimed there had been no disproportionate rise in the number of vector-borne diseases. “We are engaging in mosquito-control activities such as preventing water from stagnating in public spaces. As for fogging, this is only being done if a case is detected, as it can be quite hazardous otherwise,” he said.