The Hindu 25.02.2010
Residents to install device to check breeding of mosquitoes
Priti Narayan
PUDUCHERRY: Residents of Motilal Nehru Nagar in Oulgaret Municipality will soon install a ‘U’ shaped device to the drain pipe of their household septic tanks to prevent breeding of mosquitoes.
As of now, households in the areas that are not connected to the central drainage system direct liquid waste from their septic tanks to roadside canals through a straight drain pipe. It is through this pipe that mosquitoes enter and breed in the septic tanks, said N. Nilamani, Assistant Director, Malaria and Filaria, Health Department. Installing a U shaped device before draining out the water would help to check breeding considerably. The water stagnated at the bottom of the ‘U’ would prevent mosquitoes from entering the tank, thus creating a water trap. Even the eggs laid on this water in the ‘U’ device, would be flushed out as the water drains. The cost of assembling such a device is only Rs. 150, he added. Mosquitoes could enter the septic tank by crevices that are just 1.5 mm in width. By installing this U shaped device and blocking the crevices on the tank, breeding could be curtailed, Mr. Nilamani said.
According to statistics provided by the Health Department, these septic tanks account for 40 per cent of the mosquito population. Followed by Motilal Nehru Nagar, residents in other neighbourhoods such as J.J. Nagar have also evinced interest in installation of this device, and closing the crevices in the tank with bitumen. With only around 15 per cent of areas under the Oulgaret Municipality being connected to the central drainage system, the installation of the device is a tenable option, officials said.
Apart from initiatives taken by the municipality such as fogging and larvicidal operations, the public could themselves do their mite to prevent mosquito breeding, said S. Rajamanickam, Commissioner of Oulgaret Municipality.
