‘Stop the blame game, take responsibility’

If the city corporations managed to clean the containers and tyres lying inside the nooks and crannies of the city, while citizens took care of their own premises, the dengue threat wouldn't have become so massive. Entomologist, Prof Kabirul Bashar

Certain areas within the jurisdiction of the city corporation require intensive care when it comes to Aedes mosquitoes. They need to be cleaned, fogged, and sprayed regularly -- something the city authorities have failed to do. Some experts say this is the prime reason behind the rise in this year's dengue cases.

Most of these areas are outdoors, meaning they're beyond the scope of citizens' intervention. But rather than taking responsibility, the city corporations are shifting the blame on to the people, they added.

"Instead of going for early prevention, we wait until the eggs are hatched. There's no point in trying to kill mosquitoes only after dengue cases start rising," urban planner and architect Mobassher Hossain told The Daily Star.

"The outdoor fogging and spraying they do is mostly eyewash. Instead of actually killing off the adults and larvae, they are pushed to the roadside, and even into people's homes. Fogging should reach inside the houses," he added.

"There needs to be synergy. The city authorities need to adopt long-term plans to deal with dengue. For their part, the citizens' need to clean their toilets, air conditioners, flower vases etc. too. Only then we can contain the threat," he argued.

We are putting in all our effort, but we also need people's support. If they could even identify one unattended tyre or container lying around and inform us, we would take action right away. DNCC mayor, Md Atiqul Islam

Entomologist Touhid Uddin Ahmed opined that often government offices themselves are breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

"If Aedes larvae are found in police-seized vehicles and inside government offices, only a city corporation can do anything about it. If they had managed to keep those places clean throughout the year, the rate of dengue infections would be much less," he said.

"For example, if you ask the city corporations, they'll tell you the police stations should control the larvae breeding inside their premises and adjacent areas. But where will they get the insecticide and the machinery?" Ahmed asked.

"This is nothing but a blatant 'blame game'."

Instead of going for early prevention, we wait until the eggs are hatched. There's no point in trying to kill mosquitoes only after dengue cases start rising. Urban planner, Mobassher Hossain

Ahmed also said, "If we want to stop the rising rate of infections, we will need to kill adult mosquitoes immediately, which requires effective fogging. And nobody but the city corporations have the means to do it."

"But instead of doing that, they are only focusing on the larvae, while threatening and imposing fines on people (as a way to shift the blame). This is a waste of people's time and money," Ahmed opined.

Entomologist Dr Manjur Chowdhury, former president of Zoological Society of Bangladesh, spoke of more such areas under the sole jurisdiction of the city corporations. "There's nurseries, graveyards, parks, car garages, and more," he said,

"They are supposed to be cleaned by the city corporations, but they are not doing their job."

"There's no other place in the world that's having such a difficult time with mosquitoes. But instead of effective control measures, our city corporations are bringing out rallies. Let alone helping with dengue-control, this is a waste of precious public money," he said.

"Sure, people have their part to play as well, but only indoors. That they're not doing that effectively is also a failure of the city corporation's awareness programmes."

We cannot clean every single place. This is why we called upon people to keep their own establishments clean. DSCC public relations officer, Md Abu Naser

Entomologist Prof Kabirul Bashar of Jahangirnagar University said, "If the city corporations managed to clean the containers and tyres lying inside the nooks and crannies of the city, while citizens took care of their own premises, the dengue threat wouldn't have become so massive."

Despite repeated attempts, this correspondent could not get in touch with the DSCC mayor.

However, when asked, DSCC public relations officer and spokesperson Md Abu Naser said, "People with this kind of opinions either do not know about the reality or are denying it willfully. Experts will provide different interpretations during different times, we cannot listen to everything they say."

When asked about the efforts that have been taken in order to clean government establishments, he said, "We cannot clean every single place. This is why we called upon people to keep their own establishments clean."

When DNCC mayor Md Atiqul Islam was asked whether the areas in question go through effective cleaning regularly, he said, "We are putting in all our effort, but we also need people's support. If they could even identify one unattended tyre or container lying around and inform us, we would take action right away."

(Translated from Bangla by Mohammed Ishtiaque Khan)