SURAT:
Anopheles and eddies larvae
noticed in hyacinths in
Tapi
river, creeks, stormwater and drainage could soon lead to an outbreak of malaria and dengue in the city. A survey in
Udhna zone
found breeding of culex mosquitoes in the creeks that had vegetation growth and stagnant water. Some spots with larvae of anopheles and eddie mosquitoes were also found at the construction sites that had stored water.
Dr
Vikas Desai, director,
Urban Health
and Climate Resilience Centre (UHCRC), Surat, said, “These mosquitoes are more irritating than those that spread disease. They bite and make noise and can cause elephantiasis and filariasis.”
“Had the water been flowing in the creeks, these breeding would not have happened. The same is the case near causeway cum weir and other places where the water is stagnant. We need to remove the vegetation and carry out dredging in the creeks but we don’t have machines,” said an officer of SMC’s health department.
The season when there is an outbreak of malaria and dengue is not far off. We should take several steps to prevent an outbreak of malaria and dengue in the city. One step should be stopping all construction activities for a month to avoid breeding of mosquitoes at the sites on the lines of Singapore, the officer added.
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