The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has decided to engage up to 1,000 college-going students as volunteers to help the urban local body tackle vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya, by lending a hand in better identifying the process of mosquito breeding. An AMC press release said that the volunteers have been tasked with inspecting homes to check for mosquito breeding sites and destroying any that are found. The volunteers have gone through a one-on-one interview at the zonal offices of respective zones on September 3, before being inducted for the project. By September 7, volunteers from all zones underwent training on vector-borne disease and how to control the spread of these diseases. As of September 9, 724 volunteers were engaged across zones to detect and destroy breeding sites. Volunteers visited 32,179 homes where upto 89,143 water sites were inspected and in 3,391 homes, breeding sites were found and destroyed. Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said one of the objectives was to train youngsters and encourage them to “earn while they learn”, while creating long-term capabilities in the community. So, the students will be paid Rs 10 per house and will earn Rs 500 a day, as they would be covering 50 houses a day.
