GHMC launches 10:10:10 cleanliness drive to prevent mosquito breeding

Hyderabad: To prevent the breeding of mosquitoes and control their spread, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has launched a cleanliness drive that will be conducted every Sunday at 10 a.m for 10 minutes for the next 10 weeks.

The rule of 10:10:10 is to be followed to control the spread of mosquitoes.

Due to heavy rains in July, there is severe water logging in the low-lying areas of the city. While the Musi river areas are flooded and the water will take time to recede, mosquitoes will breed in large numbers due to the excessive rainfall.

To prevent mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, malaria, encephalitis, and chikungunya, it is important to control the breeding of mosquitoes in open water bodies around housing colonies.

The GHMC entomology department has identified 4,846 colonies within the GHMC limits to carry out awareness drives and ensure that homes practice mosquito control measures. The operations include:

· Anti-larvae operations in lakes, ponds, and tanks.

· Oil balls in dirty water.

· Gambushia fish in lake areas.

· Fogging.

· Announcements via Swachh autos.

· Distributing educational material like leaflets, stickers, and cloth banners.

Fear of rise of Dengue

Aedes mosquitoes bite during the daytime and spread dengue. For this reason, households must be alert and prevent fresh water or rainwater from accumulating in flower pot trays, ponds, and pits. Drying the areas completely is very important. On Sundays, trays, pots, and bowls must be emptied and dried.

Look out for these mosquito breeding sites:

· Old, discarded tyres.

· Flower pot trays.

· Utensils.

· Discarded coconut shells.

· Water-filled plastic waste.

· Uncapped water tanks.

· Air coolers.

· Standing water.

Control methods: Mix 5ml of Temi pass in 10 liters of water and spray the solution around 500 meters where there is standing water. This spray can be used in sewers, rainwater pits, water pits near drains, pumps, tanks and stagnant water on the roads. This can be done once a week.

GHMC is going to aggressively carry out fogging and spraying in colonies. Drones will be used to control mosquito breeding in ponds and lakes.