Chennai: The last few days of drizzle in Chennai have seen an increase in the number of public complaints with the Chennai Corporation on mosquito breeding and pest control is now a lucrative business.
While corporation sources admitted that there is a 15 per cent increase in water stagnation and mosquito related complaints, private pest control agents in south Chennai also shared that demand for insect nets, insecticides and pest control has surged since last month.
Parts of Korattur, Ambattur and Porur known for their small water bodies are now infested with Chironomus, an insect similar to the housefly. Two years ago, a similar situation prevailed ahead of monsoon and this year their arrival is early, said a corporation official who along with an entomologist team has been frequenting the Korattur lake.
“The insects have invaded entire Korattur and it is an eyesore to see them hovering on your dining table,” said Ms N. Bhuvaneswari, a resident of Korattur.
“Every morning we are forced to clean our well and the balcony due to the foul smell that emanates due to these insects,” she added.
“We have started placing advertisements in the internet search engines and the response has increased in suburban areas like Tambaram and Pallavaram”, said Sai Ganesh, who owns a pest control franchise.
“Chironomus is a non-vector and poses no danger to residents. So far in India there is no vector threat from this species and the public need not panic over the fly,” said entomology professor Ganapathy of Tamil Nadu Agriculture University.
According to corporation sources, samples of the insects have been collected for morphological study and soon insecticides will be used to attend the insect menace.
