The Times of India 10.09.2013
Guwahati Municipal Corporation to procure 31 portable fogging machines
GUWAHATI: With the dengue menace looming large over the city and a shortage of fogging machines, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has decided to procure portable fogging machines so they can be transported to every nook and corner of the city to smoke out dengue-causing mosquitoes.
Owing to shortage of fogging machines, many pockets of the city remain uncovered in fogging drives. Over 300 dengue cases have been detected in the city in the past month.
The GMC has recently written to the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) seeking approval to buy 31 portable fogging machines. At present, the municipal body has only five such machines. The GMC also has six big fogging machines, but these can't be used in lanes and narrow roads.
GMC commissioner S Viswanathan said that while carrying out fogging drives in the city, the municipal body has pressed into service 37 portable machines belonging to the health department besides the five owned by the GMC. "Considering the width of the roads in the city, we need more portable fogging machines that are handy and can be used to carry out fogging drives in households located along smaller bylanes and in the hilly areas of Guwahati," Viswanathan told TOI.
He added that 42 machines are not enough to cover the entire municipal area of the city, spread over 216 square km. The GMC should be able to procure the 31 new fogging machines with 15 days from Monday if everything goes well, he added.
The decision to buy more fogging machines was taken in a recent meeting of senior GMC officials with chief minister Tarun Gogoi regarding preventive measures that need to be taken in the city to check dengue.
The GMC commissioner appealed to the denizens to remove all sources of stagnant water so that the aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads dengue, can not breed.
"Water in vases should be changed on alternate days in order to prevent breeding of the aedes mosquito. All pails and water storage containers should be kept upside down immediately after use. If hygienic conditions can be maintained in homes, we can fight dengue without much difficulty," Viswanathan added.
