The New Delhi Municipal Council has started spraying and fogging to sanitise and control mosquito-breeding in the New Delhi area after the insects were found breeding near the Prime Ministers residence last week. While P K Sharma,a health official,NDMC claims it is just a precautionary step,sources in the civic bodys Health department have informed that NDMC personnel had spotted mosquitoes breeding in the nallah near 7,Race Course Road during a routine check on June 10. Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes were also seen breeding near Assam Bhawan,Punjab Bhawan and in the coolers at various shops in A block,Connaught Place,they said. The civic body has now deployed around 170 personnel to carry out fogging and spraying operations. Keeping in mind last years dengue outbreak in the Capital,we have already initiated steps to sanitise these areas. If needed,we will deploy more people to bring the situation under control, a health official said. According to officials,notices have been served to shopowners in Connaught Place to control mosquito breeding. In case they default,the NDMC will take punitive action. Sharma,however,said the mosquitoes found breeding near the PMs residence were not the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes that cause dengue. The nallah near the Prime Ministers residence does not have stagnant water. As part of the control-dengue drive,we have created a cunet or a kaccha nallah to ensure the flow of the water at all times, he said. We have,anyway,sprayed larvicides and other pesticides there. NDMC had also released Gambusia fish that eats up larvae, Sharma said. Health department personnel have been assigned specific bhawans and their surrounding areas to check mosquito breeding, Sharma said. Each year,before the monsoon,the NDMC carries out fogging and spraying near water bodies and areas where there is stagnant water,to prevent the outbreak of malaria and dengue. According to the National Institute of Malaria Research (IMR),however,the civic bodys efforts are not adequate.
