Foggers began cannoning mosquitoes in Dhaka as the two city corporations launched a simultaneous combat against the tiny tyrants amid public fears about a comeback of last monsoon's scourge of chikungunya virus.
The twin city administrations started a three-tier 'crash programme' with special larviciding and fogging activities at different corners of the capital to prevent eruption of mosquito-borne diseases as rain comes in pre-monsoon period.
A public-awareness alarm rang out against outbreak of diseases like chikungunya, dengue-zika and yellow fever, which spread largely last year and many people suffered from enervating chikungunya afflictions.
The city authorities deployed an army of local representatives and different sociopolitical organisations in respective city areas for the mass-awareness campaigns.
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon gave nod to an elaborate programme to kill mosquitoes under his domain.
He used a fogger to spray mosquito repellents at the Institute of Fine Arts under Dhaka University to mark the kickoff.
"We call on citizens to remain alert against chikungunya to prevent the disease from turning endemic in the city this year," he said.
The mayor also requested the city-dwellers to clean bushes, gardens and water containers around their houses as Aedes mosquitoes breed in stagnant water.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has lost its mayor recently. But its administration launched the mosquito-eradication drive earlier this month.
Chief health officer of Dhaka South City Corporation Brigadier General Dr Sheikh Salahuddin told the FE the special drive with the larviciding and fogging started across the city to prevent mosquito-borne diseases.
"Besides, we started awareness campaign including telecasting advertisement in electronic and print media, holding rally, arranging view-exchanging meeting, and leaflet distribution at the grassroots highlighting the precautionary and different preventive measures about the chikungunya disease," he said.
The DSCC has also opened an information room at Nagar Bhaban with DSCC Secretary Mohammad Shahabuddin as its coordinator.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) chief health officer Brigadier-Gen Md Zakir Hassan said the awareness campaign about chikungunya and dengue was started on February 12 in the north of the capital.
They further intensified the mosquito-prevention programme right now with an increased number of fogger machines and awareness programme in each ward.
"We launched a hotline number Tuesday to provide mosquito-control services to the doorsteps of residents," he said.
The city-dwellers can dial the hotline number 01932665544 from 9:00am to 5:00pm from February 28 to place request for spraying insecticide to control the mosquito menace in their locality.
DNCC will provide its mosquito-control services within 24 hours after getting the call. DNCC's ongoing crash course against mosquito will continue till March 15.
Meanwhile, experts said there is a widespread allegation that although the government sanctioned adequate budgetary allocation to prevent the mosquito menace in the capital, there had been no major visible headway in this connection as chikungunya became almost epidemic last year between April and September.
According to the Ministry of Health, from the onset of the outbreak between April 1, 2017 and Sept 7, 2017, a total of 13,176 people were clinically confirmed chikungunya patients in 18 districts of the country.
DNCC, however, allocated Tk 230 million in the 2017-18 financial year to combat mosquito while DSCC allocated Tk 168 million.
The DNCC chief health officer said they had allocated Tk 180 million for medicine and the rest for machinery and other costs.
He said the North has now 266 fogger, 364 hand-spray and 9 wheel- barrow machines functioning.
The DSCC chief health officer said they have 387 fogger machines, 438 hand- sprays and 36 wheel-barrow machines.
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