Vijayawada: People in the city were inconvenienced not only by the extra chill but also by swarms of mosquitoes this winter. They found fault with the civic body officials for failing to heed to their request of cleaning the side drains and vacant sites, where rainwater gets pooled and acts as breeding ground for mosquitoes.
This apart, lack of proper cleaning of side drains, piling garbage heaps and overflowing underground drainages, indiscriminate littering on streets have also been adding to the problem.
The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation conducted ‘Domala Pi Danda Yatra’ (war on mosquitoes) several times but in vain as the number of mosquitoes failed to reduce and many fell sick due to vector-borne diseases.
Over 55 places were identified as mosquito breeding centres in Vijayawada city. Special measures have been sought to check mosquitoes.
In a majority of the side drains in Moghalrajpuram, Krishnalanka, Ramavara-ppadu Ring Road, I Town, Polytechnic College Centre, Patamata, Arundalpeta, Satyanara-yanapuram, Gandhinagar and other areas of the city, silt got collected leading to logging of sewerage water and people complain that they cannot stand in the open in the nights as they fear being attacked by mosquitoes.
Besides, the slow pace of storm water drainage works in various areas of the city is leading to overflowing of drains, which also aids breeding of mosquitoes.
J. Kondalu, a resident of Patamata, said that silt has been obstructing free flow of drainage water in the side drains and faulted the sanitation employees for failing to remove it.
“Any symptom of fever is scaring people as they are afraid that it can be dengue, malaria or typhoid, in the wake of the increased number of mosquitoes,” he said.
In an attempt to protect themselves from the mosquitoes, people have been closing all the doors and windows early evening as mosquitoes get active at this time.
Communist leader K. Durga Rao said that every year, 500-600 dengue and malaria cases were getting registered, according to official records, in the last four years in the city.
Unofficially, an additional 5,000-6,000 dengue and malaria cases keep existing every year.
He faulted the VMC for failing to take up fogging in a majority of the areas in the city.
He appealed to the VMC to clean the side drains and also to shift garbage away from the residential areas.
The VMC officials said that oil balls were released in the side drains to check mosquito breeding and that fogging was being conducted once in every two days.
This apart, awareness programmes are also being conducted to make the masses know the importance of maintaining sanitation in their surroundings.
