Mosquito menace beyond control

For an estimated six lakh people suffering from the menace of mosquitoes, the Rangpur City Corporation has only four fogger machines to fight the threat.

To make matters worse, two of the foggers went out of order a while back.

In 2012, Rangpur municipality, comprising an area of 52km, was upgraded to a city corporation. Since then, not only the population and area under the city corporation has increased, the city also witnessed a rise of the mosquito menace.

But the only thing that has remained stagnant is the inefficiency of the city corporation in failing to cope with the threat, alleged many of the residents.

They said due to a lack of proper monitoring and cleaning drive in water bodies, many areas under the city corporation have turned into an ideal breeding ground.

On top of that, this year, while residents are struggling to combat the mosquito menace, the city corporation is yet to start an anti-mosquito drive.

Aiyub Ali, conservancy inspector of the city corporation, said they were yet to start the drive. “We were waiting for the winter to pass. We are preparing to start the drive soon.”

As they have a shortage of fogger machines, covering all the areas under the city corporation would be difficult, he said.

When asked why they were not purchasing more equipment as two of the four foggers went out of order, he said, “We will cover as much areas as possible.”

This correspondent also asked him about the allocated budget for controlling mosquitoes. The inspector evaded the question and repeated the above.

He did, however, mention that the newly elected mayor is looking into the issue seriously.

Contacted, Mayor Mostafizar Rahman said though he just took charges on February 19, he is working to mitigate the problem.

“I've already spoken with the officials concerned regarding the mosquito menace. We'll purchase more fogger machines, as the existing ones are not sufficient to cover the entire city.”

The mayor said a tender has already been floated for purchasing more fogger machines. “Besides, RCC has started procuring insecticide to be used for controlling mosquitoes. The drives will start next week,” he assured.

Regarding the budget for anti-mosquito drives, he said, “It is true that we do not have sufficient budget to fight the menace, but we are trying our best.”

Meanwhile, amid the authorities concerned evading questions and the ongoing attack of mosquitoes, city dwellers continue to suffer.

“It does not matter whether it's day or night, mosquitoes are everywhere,” said Sohel Rana, a resident of Station area.

According to many residents, the situation took a turn for the worse because of the appalling condition of the Shyamsundari canal. The canal is the main outlet that connects all the drains in the city.

Due to unabated dumping of waste and a lack of maintenance, the century-old canal has become a fertile ground for mosquito breeding. In addition, garbage remains piled up all over the city without being disposed of properly, which also attract mosquitoes.

Expressing concern over the filthy condition of the 12-km canal, JP Chairman HM Ershad, also a lawmaker from Rangpur, urged the city corporation, at a recent meeting in February, to take an initiative to clean the water body.

During a visit last week, this correspondent found that the canal has turned into a narrow and polluted stream with foul odour. Once considered a lifeline for Rangpur city, the canal is now filled with garbage and aquatic plants, and remained clogged-up with garbage at various points.

All in all, it has become an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.

“We continue to burn money by using coils and incenses while the city corporation sits idle,” complained Mohammed Rafiq of Dhap area.

Many of the residents of Engineer Para, Station Road, Alamnagar, Kamalkasna and Paharkasna also vented the same frustration.

Due to an absence of anti-mosquito drives, people are suffering, said Mofizul Islam Montu, a cultural activist. A lack of proper drain and waste management has intensified the problem. “I hope the mayor would take a prompt initiative and address the issue.”

Many of the residents alleged that though they were paying high taxes, they were not getting required services from the city corporation.

Expressing concern, they also alleged that the city corporation, in previous years, only carried out drives in VIP areas such as Guptapara, Senpara and Mulatol.

About the allegation, Aiyub Ali, conservancy inspector, said, “When we get a request from any specific area, we operate our anti-mosquito drives there.” He did not elaborate further.

Regarding the state of Shyamsundari canal, the mayor said, “Once the canal used to be our lifeline, now it has become a curse.”

“Shyamsundari is dying. In the last five years, around Tk 25 crore has been spent to save the water body, but to no avail. Not only it's under a threat of encroachment, but due to a constant dumping of garbage, it has also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.”

The city corporation has formed a committee to survey the canal, he informed. “We'll take proper measures to save it.”

About the mosquito menace, the mayor said, “Every thing will be fine within the next 15 days as we will start our anti-mosquito drive soon.”