HYDERABAD: Leaving the windows and doors open to enjoy some fresh air could be a common practice for many households. But for residents in several parts of the city, such simple pleasures can come at a risk of being invaded by swarms of uninvited guests - mosquitoes. To stay clear of this menace, which has now become a never-ending problem, residents in several areas are seen keeping their doors and windows shut after 5.30 pm.
Many say that the polluted water bodies and open drains, accentuated by the delay in civic authorities carrying out monsoon related works, has turned the city into a notorious hotspot for mosquito breeding.
“It has become impossible to keep windows or doors open for even a minute after 5.30 in the evenings. We wouldn’t be facing this problem if the civic staff did not leave the drainage lines open in the entire area to finish laying pipelines as part of the Charminar Pedestrianization Project,” said Fazil Ali, a resident of Charminar.
Similarly, residents from Dilli Darwaza, Nayapul, Petlaburj, Ghansi Bazar, Char Mahal, Moosa Bowli, Phool Bagh, Begum Bazaar and other areas surrounding Musi river also said the menace has reached alarming proportions in past few months.
“We lead a miserable life and stay indoors all the time due to this mosquito problem. It feels as if the entire city has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and this is despite the fogging activities being done by the GHMC staff on a regular basis. It’s high time the government took measures to find a permanent solution to control breeding,” said Tarun Gupta, a resident of Begum Bazaar.
In Moosapet, residents urged GHMC authorities to clean IDL lake, which has turned into a breeding ground for mosquitoes. “The lake is about 2 kms from where we stay and still this mosquito problem is giving us sleepless nights. We have also raised complaints on the GHMC app multiple times but there don’t come up with any concrete solution other than fogging,” said Suresh Kumar, a resident of Aanjaneya colony.
Agreeing that the mosquito problem is due to pollution in Musi river and open nalas, P Rambabu, chief entomologist, GHMC said, “While the problem of open nalas is being dealt by the engineering wing of GHMC, we have deployed a team of 54 members covering 21 kilometers of Musi river to conduct sanitation, fogging, anti-larval operations and other activities to control mosquito population. Similar measures are being taken in other water bodies. We have also removed water hyacinth from 31 lakes, while the work is going on in two lakes at present.”
“The citizens should also take responsibility. This problem can be solved if apartment don’t release their domestic waste into water bodies or people stop dumping waste directly into the lakes,” he added.
