City residents fear malaria outbreak

Fogging machines of UT Health Dept lying out of order

BQ: Two vehicle-mounted fogging machines are too less for the entire city. The number of these machines should be raised to 10. We have been getting several complaints from resident welfare associations that fogging is not being done. The authorities should ensure that machines are made functional as soon as possible.

Dr Anish Garg, spokesperson, Chandigarh Residents’ Association Welfare Federation

Box: Case history

Disease 2017 2018 2019

Malaria 114 44 22

Dengue 1951 301 286

Chikungunya 54 4 0

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 10

Amid Covid-19 outbreak, fear of malaria has also gripped city residents as fogging machines of the UT Health Department are lying out of order.

Residents have been complaining of mosquitoes in their areas, but to no avail.

According to information, the Malaria Wing of the department has two vehicle-mounted fogging machines. One of the machines is not working while the other is being used to its minimal capacity as it is also not in a good condition.

Sources said: “There are about seven to eight hand-held fogging machines, which are used inside houses. Three such machines are also not working”.

“Two vehicle-mounted fogging machines are too less for the entire city. The number of these machines should be raised to 10. We have been getting several complaints from resident welfare associations that fogging is not being done. The authorities should ensure that machines are made functional as soon as possible,” said Dr Anish Garg, spokesperson, Chandigarh Residents’ Association Welfare Federation.

Mamta Mishra, a resident of Sector 30, said: “Whether we get infected with Covid or not, malaria is surely going to infect people here. There are mosquitoes in our locality. Mosquito repellants alone cannot help. Yesterday, two persons came for fogging here, but they seemed to be doing a mere formality as their machine was apparently not working properly. They just clicked selfies in the area for proof and left.”

Fogging starts in April every year, but this time it has delayed inordinately.

A malaria wing official said: “These machines need frequent servicing. Due to the lockdown, we are not able to find mechanics to get these serviced. Fogging was done in some areas like Sector 15.”

A health official, on condition of anonymity, said: “Vehicle-mounted fogging machines will be repaired soon. While five hand-held fogging machines are working like previous year, we have not been using others. The machines developed some issues due to overuse, but our work is not suffering.”