Jumbangla Desk: Officials of two City Corporations of Dhaka are talking about taking various steps to kill mosquitoes at the cost of hundreds of millions of rupees, but the desired benefits are not met. Rather, as the number of dengue patients increases, so does the death rate. At the same time, other mosquito infestations are increasing. In such a context, entomologists have expressed doubts about the effectiveness and quality of insecticides used to kill mosquitoes. They also raised questions about supervision. Details from the report by Kal Kantar-

Experts say that insecticides used to kill mosquitoes would have been beneficial if the active ingredient had been in a certain amount. As the results are inconsistent, these pesticides need to be tested and validated in the lab in the presence of entomologists. They also demand monitoring from the third party. The two city authorities say there is no further action left to kill mosquitoes.

Mosquito extermination allocated to two cities

According to the sources of the two city corporations, in the current financial year, the cost of killing mosquitoes in the two cities has been fixed at 154 crores. Dhaka South City (DSCC) has been allocated Tk 44 crore in the financial year 2024-25. Out of this, 40 crore rupees are spent to buy insecticides to kill mosquitoes.

Dhaka North City (DNCC) has been allocated around Tk 110 crore for mosquito control in the current financial year. Out of this, 65 crore rupees were kept to buy insecticides to kill mosquitoes. The rest of the money is earmarked to buy foggers, wheels, spray machines and transport, bleaching powder and disinfectants and mosquito control equipment. In the last 13 years, 1 thousand 354 crores have been spent on various measures to kill mosquitoes in Dhaka.

Steps taken by City Corporation

The two cities are conducting various activities to kill mosquitoes. A DNCC expert committee meeting was held at the end of last month to decide on strengthening the quality control and monitoring activities of pesticides used. Various action plans are taken there. According to the decision, 10 teams of DNCC were formed to monitor dengue activities at the field level. The campaign will be conducted by collecting the addresses of about 3,300 houses under construction from Rajuk. Advocacy meetings will be held with nursery owners, students and teachers of schools, colleges and madrasas.
It was decided to purchase modern technology buffalo turbine machine to apply pesticides in more areas in a short time and to keep sufficient stock of pesticides and equipment for use in mosquito control activities throughout the year.

Officials of both corporations said that two separate six-member expert committees formed in Dhaka North and South City are working on effective and sustainable solutions to prevent dengue. Experts have recommended conducting a separate survey on mosquito-borne diseases with the health department as well as ensuring use of standardized doses of insecticides.

Zobair Hossain, information officer of DSCC, said that mosquito control workers are being monitored whether they are spraying pesticides in specific areas at the right time or not. Their activities are live streamed and monitored by officials from the office.

There are allegations of negligence

Residents of Dhaka have complained of negligence against mosquito exterminators in eliminating the source of mosquitoes. Yasin Ali, a resident of Rupnagar, said that there is a lack of sincerity of workers in killing mosquitoes. They don't come regularly. He urged to make the anti-mosquito workers accountable for why they are not coming.

Koraish Reza, a resident of Mirpur, said that the Rupnagar Canal is closed. Water is not moving. This canal of black and smelly water is now occupied by mosquitoes. Apart from this, staying in the smelly area is a liability. This situation has been going on for years. The City Corporation has been repeatedly urged to clean them but to no avail.

In this regard, Deputy Chief Waste Management Officer of the City Corporation. Mofizur Rahman Bhuiyan said that two floating devices have been purchased for canal waste management. It is currently working in Rampura. It will be brought to Mirpur after completion of work.

What the entomologists are saying

Experts are talking about pesticide testing. Adulticide and malathion are used to kill Aedes mosquitoes in two cities of Dhaka. Temifs liquid is used for larvicidal Aedes mosquitoes. Apart from this, Malaria Well-B, Novaluron Tablets are being used to kill the larvae.

Member of expert committee related to mosquito control of DNCC and Chairman of Department of Entomology of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University. Rashedul Islam said, 'Dhaka City Corporation has informed us about taking various steps to kill mosquitoes. My question is, why is the pesticide not working? Our point of doubt is whether the quality of this medicine is correct or not. For this I have suggested quality testing of this pesticide in the lab in our presence. If the quality of medicine is correct and applied correctly, so many mosquitoes would not have increased.'

This entomologist feels that there is also negligence in the monitoring system. Those who are monitoring should have separate teams for monitoring their activities. Apart from this, students should be involved in the monitoring work. After the monitoring of one group of students, another group should go and monitor it, so that there is no chance of any lapse in the monitoring process.

He said that where mosquitoes or larvae are found more, workshops should be organized in the respective areas to make the people of the surrounding areas aware , so that the locals are aware.

DNCC Chief Health Officer Brigadier General Imrul Kayes Chowdhury said, "There is no action that has not been taken to kill mosquitoes." All methods are accepted. The City Corporation has nothing more to do at the moment. However, it is important whether the mosquito control workers are spraying the insecticides at the right time and whether it is well monitored. DNCC has 1,100 anti-mosquito workers, who are working every day, he said. About the quality of pesticides, he said, 'We have tested in the lab. Seen the standard is fine.'

This chief health officer of DNCC said, 'There is some inconsistency in the information of the number of dengue patients in the area of ​​the health department. We are taking information from every dengue patient and taking action in the light of that going to the concerned areas.'