Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation claims that it has spent about Rs 1.5 crore on anti-mosquito measures, but there seems to be no end to the rapidly-growing mosquito menace in the city. The total budget to fight mosquitoes is a mere Rs 5 crore.
The long pending proposal to increase the number of fogging machines from 150 to 300 has been put in cold storage. There is only one fogging machine for each of the 150 wards, which is not enough. The corporation has 140 portable and 10 vehicle-mounted fogging machines. Of these, 30 portable machines have not been functioning for a month.
The official records show, endorsed by random signatures, that fogging operations are carried out thrice a month.
But it has been found that fogging operations are not carried out even once in three months.
Though GHMC officials were taken to task by corporators at the council meeting, they have done nothing much. One public representative had claimed that his dog would die of mosquito bites if he tied it outside for a full day.
The corporation has been spending about Rs 5 crore on purchasing fogging and anti larval material. It has spent Rs 1.5 crore in two quarters to fight the mosquito menace.
According to records, the GHMC has spent Rs 58 lakh from January 1 to March 31, 2019 and Rs 15.8 lakh from April 1 to August 31, 2019 for the purpose. It spent Rs 22.4 lakh, on Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI), Rs 13.5 lakh on cyphenothrin technical material and Rs 11.8 lakh on mosquito larvicidal oil (MLO) in February. In June, it purchased MLO for Rs 13.5 lakh and spent Rs 2.3 lakh on diesel in July. These figures have stayed unchanged for four fiscals.
Dr A. Rambabu, chief entomologist, said that instructions were given to the staff to submit the number of fogging machines and status of their repairs before a decision was taken on purchasing more machines.
Admitting to irregularities in the entomology wing, Mr Rambabu said that the corporation would conduct a detailed inquiry into the material purchased and used.
He said stringent action would be initiated if anyone is found guilty.
The chief entomologist said the corporation would have four check mechanisms by involving officials at the zonal, circle and colony level.
Zonal commissioners, deputy commissioners and assistant medical officer of health (AMoH) will cross-verify the fogging and anti larval operations taken up on the ground.
Mr Rambabu said the corporation would involve officials from the vigilance wing for the audit. He said that the entomology staff has collected signatures from the residents after performing anti-larval and fogging operations, which would be randomly checked by officers at circle and zonal level. The corporation has decided to replace cyphenothrin with government supplied malathion as was done by the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation in August. A corporation official said that unlike cyphenothrin, malathion is odourless. The corporation will also conduct indoor residual spraying once a month, fogging once a week, and anti-larval operations on a regular basis.
