Chennai: “The pictures published were so scary.” This line reflected the mood among the top brass of the Greater Chennai Corporation and the State Health Secretary who inspected the Korattur lake on Sunday morning, following a report published in Deccan Chronicle last Thursday that parts of Korattur and Ambattur, known for small water bodies, are now infested with Chironomus, an insect similar to the housefly, even as the northeast monsoon is to set in.
Following directions from Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who instructed them to take immediate steps to ensure that the insects are eradicated from the area, City Mayor ‘Saidai’ Duraisamy, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan and Corporation Commissioner D Karthickeyan along with senior officials of the civic body and the health department inspected the lake and spent nearly an hour there.
Corporation staff clear the Korattur lake infested with Chironomus.
“These insects breed in the lakes right now and the Chief Minister suggested that we try letting ducks into the lake to ensure that the larvae is removed from the water body. As an initial step, we have already let 150 ducks into the Korattur lake and by late night another 150 would have been added,” Mr Radhakrishnan told Deccan Chronicle.
DC had on Thursday reported with pictures how Chironomus had invaded Korattur and how they are giving sleepless nights to residents of the area.
Though the insect does not cause any illness as such, it leads to lot of irritation if it comes near anyone.
Noting that the insect breeds in enormous numbers and hovers around lights, the Health Secretary said preliminary report of entomologists say Chironomus insects are a kind of aquatic midges.
“It does not transmit any disease. It breeds in the lakes in certain seasons and emerges in phenomenal numbers causing tremendous nuisance to people living near the lake. It disrupts outdoor activities as well as indoor activities. Attracted by lakes, it causes difficulty to people, especially at night. It enters the mouth and tends to disrupt one’s ability to breathe,” he said.
As part of a three-pronged strategy to eradicate the breeding of the insect in Korattur and Ambattur areas, the Health Ministry and the Greater Chennai Corporation will use ducks to ensure that the larvae is eaten and spraying and fogging will be done to eliminate the adult insects thereby eliminating the breeding.
Mr Radhakrishnan said, “The larval stage can last up to two weeks. Adults live only for three to five days and continuous insecticide spray is planned for the next few days.General bleaching powder and mass cleaning and removal of the plants there is also being done,” he said.
The Health Secretary also said they have sought the help of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in identifying whether any organic material is polluting the lake which provides a breeding source for insects.
‘Trying to provide temporary lighting at the lake’
Health secretary J. Radhakrishnan said the corporation is trying to provide temporary lighting near the lake as a physical measure to attract and divert the adult insects. He also said the Corporation and the Health department would deploy at least 300 sanitation workers to clean up the area around the lake so that it ceases to be an insect-breeding area.
Tanuvas donates ducks to Korattur lake
The ducks let into the Korattur lake on Sunday as per the instructions of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa were donated by the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. The VC, Dr. S.Thilagar was also present at the Korattur lake when the Health secretary and the Mayor visited the site.
The VC ensured that 150 ducks were made available within a few hours' notice and arranged for another 150 by late Sunday night.
