Hyderabad: Presently the nation is facing the grave threat of ‘novel coronavirus.’ With people confined within the four walls of their homes and corporation’s entomology department being inactive during containment efforts, mosquitoes are having a free run by making life difficult for some of the city’s residents. Plus, in combating such nuisances, the city is becoming somewhat of a smoke factory.
According to sources, the houses of the Old City — in localities like Charminar, Kishan Bagh, Afzalgunj, Begum Bazar, Hussaini Alam, Ghani Bazar, Shalibanda, Hari Bowli, Gazi Banda, Fateh Darwaza, Hussaini Alam, Alijah Kotla, Moghalpura, Darushifa and the new city ones — Abids, King Kothi, Bougulkuntad, Narayanguda, Hyderguda, and Ranji Gunj — have all become breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
The lack of fogging, sanitisation in these areas, especially bastis and colonies, have accelerated the menace to a high level. When approaching the civic body regarding this inconvenience amidst the lockdown backdrop, citizens were only met with apathy.
A siasat.com reporter on Tuesday night went across the Old and New Cities and captured visuals of cops and street dwellers who are lighting up waste — like vegetables, cardboard or leaves — with flames so that smoke could ward off mosquitoes.
Besides the residents, cops deployed at various checkpoints in the city are lighting up fires under the assumption that smoke will stave off mosquitoes.
This little remedy was also unsuccessful.
Though no one was seen in the middle of the night amidst the lockdown except cops, health officials, media persons, street people and stray dogs. The city is becoming like a ‘Smoke Factory’ as cops and street people are utilizing flames to protect themselves from mosquitoes.
A police official who was deployed at the checkpoint at midnight stated that this menace has increased in the entire city. “We face a lot of difficulties to stand and perform our duty due to the menace of mosquitoes,” he added.
One street dweller said, “We put our life at risk by sleeping on the roads as the GHMC shelters are full. We sleep on roads but because of mosquitoes we are not able to sleep properly.”
Some of the street vendors at Nayapul who sleep at the corners of the bridge s they claim that every day they burn around five to eight boxes to protect their fruit stall.
To some, the smoke emanating from these flames gives the appearance of a fire breaking out from afar.
“The entomology of GHMC is fogging the areas recommended by the AIMIM corporates or the area counsellors. Meanwhile, all our complains are unheard. whenever we asked them to fog spares to maintain hygiene its been unresponded, whenever we ask them to fog the medicine they would ask us to complain to our area’s corporator for it to be done.”
Mohammed Ahmed TDP Greater Hyderabad Minority Vice-president
When the reporter reached Begum Bazar, he noticed a family of three sleeping on the road with, a father is lighting up a fire to safe his family from mosquitoes. Beside him, his wife and daughter were sleeping.
Mohammed Abdul Sarwar, a Bogulkunta — King Kothi resident said that local residents have gone to complain to the corporator of this area to alleviate this mosquito problem. But they didn’t get a positive response from the officials as their efforts were in vain.
A Corporation official said, “With whatever resources we have at our disposal, we are trying to fight both Corona and dengue.”
The official has not explained the reason and revealed the percentage of mosquitoes increased in the city.
mohammedhussain.reporter@gmail.com