Bengaluru: Dengue on rampage, but no fogging, say residents

Bengaluru: It is not just 2015 that has brought the deadly Aedes mosquito in the news in the city for all the wrong reasons. Questions have been raised about BBMP's dengue control techniques much earlier. "I haven't seen a single fogging machine or guys spraying pesticides at work," says Venkatesh from Murugeshpalya. He adds sarcastically, "Reading newspapers every day about the BBMP's fogging and surveillance methods, makes me wonder whether I live in a different Bengaluru."

BBMP's inability to tackle dengue is raising a lot of eyebrows. People from CV Raman Nagar have also complained that there is no fogging. "We are staying in Jayanagar and are affected by the mosquito menace," adds another resident of the city. Speaking about fogging, Dr Manoranjan Hegde, Chief Health Officer, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) says, "Right now we are focusing on high-density areas or dengue positive areas and covering all the slums. Fogging activity is carried out once in ten or fifteen days."

But when DC asked about the issue of regular fogging, the CHO clarified, explaining, "Fogging is only a temporary measure and helps kill the mosquito. Secondly, after fogging there is no need for another round, as the life-cycle also takes 8-10 days. So we do not do it regularly. "Also, fogging could be resorted to only for epidemic containment as a temporary, contingent supplement to the other epidemic prevention and containment measures. It must be used only for a limited period in a clearly identified area."