The Times of India                   04.03.2013

Here's the buzz: It's time to move or face the bite

CHENNAI: After trying various ways to counter the mosquito problem and meeting with complete failure, Chennai Corporation recently decided to distribute mosquito nets to residents of localities along the city's 16 minor and major waterways.

Too little, too late.

The corporation has spent more than 10 crore on fogging operations over the past five years, but swarms of mosquitoes are driving people in the city to desperation.

There has been a surge in the number of mosquitoes across the city over the past week, especially in places along the Cooum and the Adyar and Buckingham, Captain Cotton, Otteri, Virugambakkam and Mambalam canals. People are fleeing their houses to move to localities where there are likely to be fewer mosquitoes.

Ganesh Kumar, who has a baby boy at home, started a frantic search after he found his house in Mylapore infested with mosquitoes. The 32-year-old accountant was worried the baby would fall ill with one of the many diseases that the insects carry: Malaria, dengue, chikungunya, even Japanese encephalitis. He would take no chances, he decided, even if it meant a whole lot of trouble and extra expense.

He now pays 2,000 more per month for the house he's taken in Saligramam but it has bought him relief and peace of mind.

"It became impossible to stay in the house in Mylapore because of the mosquitoes," Kumar said. "I brought the problem to the notice of various corporation officials but they did nothing to clean up the area and keep the mosquitoes in check."

Lakshmi Sethuraman, who recently shifted to Choolaimedu from Adyar, says repellants and coils do not stop mosquitoes any longer.

Brokers in the city say people now factor in the mosquito menace potential before they decide to purchase a house or take one on rent. "Every locality has mosquitoes but in some areas it is a severe problem. People now avoid houses near the Adyar and Cooum," said R Saravanan, a real estate agent in Teynampet.

Experts say culex mosquitoes are mainly to blame for the surge in numbers. The species that can cause a wide variety of diseases - from filariasis to Japanese encephalitis. The anopheles and Aedes egypti variety breed in fresh water, but culex mosquitoes lay their eggs in sewage.

Records show that mosquito density is extremely high in Royapuram, Teynampet, Manali, Mylapore, Vyasarpadi, Sowcarpet, Adyar and Tondiarpet. The situation is not quite as bad in Anna Nagar, Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, Triplicane and Ashok Nagar. Corporation officials say six of every 10 calls they receive on the 1913 helpline has to do with mosquitoes.

Senior corporation officials, adept at passing the buck, blame the public works department. "The mosquito numbers are rising because of poor desilting of water bodies by the PWD," an official said.