KOCHI: Even as public protest is mounting over the City Corporation’s failure in implementing mosquito eradication projects, the civic body has now come up with a Russian-made electro fogging machine to address the issue of increasing mosquito population.
Mayor Tony Chammany, during the demonstration of the machine, announced that the local body would consider buying the Russian electro fogging machine, worth US$2000, if the health department approved the proposal.
Meanwhile, the corporation health wing had failed to respond to the RTI queries filed by Adv. D B Binu, state general secretary of Kerala Human Rights Defence Forum, in May 2012 on mosquito eradication projects and the amount spent.
Later, based on the complaint submitted by him, the State Information Commission conducted a sitting in which corporation health officials stated that details regarding mosquito eradication measures were not available.
The officials added that fogging and chemical spraying were being conducted regularly.
However, saline water spraying in drains had to be stopped due to an audit objection raised by the Accountant General office.
The AG’s office objected to saline water flushing as the corporation had spent Rs. 69.92 lakh on it without adequate documents and the authority of accounts could not be ensured.
“While saline water flushing is the most effective method to resolve mosquito menace, civic officials are resorting to expensive methods like chemical fogging to get funds from agencies supplying chemicals,” alleged Binu.
Last year, the civic body had purchased four big high-tech fogging machines and 20 small hand-held sprayers at a cost of Rs. 1 lakh per big machine and Rs. 30, 000 per small sprayer.
But it proved to be failure as the machines, with less smoke, were ineffective in eradicating mosquitoes.
CPM councillor P.S Prakash alleged that the civic body had miserably failed to resolve the mosquito menace.
“For the last few years, the mosquito eradication drive has been a failure with no saline water flushing of drains and fogging. Even the health committee chairman admitted that the drive has been hit due to audit objection,” he said.
