Chennai: When it comes to mosquitoes, the civic body seems to be waging a losing battle. However the corporation is not giving up and on Thursday the civic body intensified fogging and spraying operations aimed at controlling the breeding of mosquitoes.

“A slight increase in mosquito menace has been felt in some parts of Chennai in the last one  week.  I have been spending sleepless nig­hts as mosquitoes have been troubling us. I am clueless on where they come from,” rued D. Siddharth, a first year medical student residing at Madipakkam.

One can see swarms of mosquitoes over garbage mounds and open drains in K K Nagar area, said S. Sanjith, a resident of K. K. Nagar.

“Buildings with stagnant water pave way for vector breeding and the incidence of mosquito breeding has been curtailed through periodical fogging,”  a corporation official said. The civic body will also carry out intensified fogging operations in 41 identified places in Chennai, which earlier had records of malaria and dengue. 

“Velachery, George Town, Vyasarpadi, Washermanpet and other slum areas vulnerable to malaria are targeted and intensive fogging is being done there. And all throughout the city we have been checking out for unused overhead tanks and issuing notice to owners or breaking the tanks at once,”  the official added.

The official pointed out that the intermittent rains would be a challenge to the civic body but the corporation had a strong contingent of mosquito workers including 1,675 contract workers and 1,479 permanent workers to battle against the mosquitoes.

Earlier in the day,  awareness camps on water stagnation were conducted in corporation schools where students identified water stagnated places in their locality.