Mosquito menace in Visakhapatnam, locals demand urgent action from GVMC

Visakhapatnam: Residents of Visakhapatnam, mainly those in Marripalem, Old Karasa, NAD Junction, Gnanapuram and several slum areas, are faced with the mosquito menace and are unable to sleep.

Residents allege that the GVMC has not taken any major steps to address the issue.

Chitti Naidu, a resident of Marripalem, voiced his frustration thus: "It's not just the day or night; mosquitoes are after us all the time. It has been over a month since any fogging operation took place in our area."

An official from GVMC explained the ongoing efforts to control the mosquito menace. He cited a weekly initiative called "Friday Dry Day" to eradicate mosquitoes. In areas with a high mosquito count, a hand-held process is employed to manually eliminate the pests, he claimed.

As for fogging, he said it is carried out every 7 to 9 days in all areas. If there are reports of any area being neglected, immediate action will be taken to rectify the situation, he has promised.

Notably, in the past three days alone, three cases of dengue have been reported even as the count of malaria cases remained zero.

Meanwhile, to combat the mosquito menace, the GVMC has proposed the release of six lakh Gambusia fish into the city's water bodies.

The GVMC has urged the public to ensure a mosquito-free environment and urged them to have compliance with the 'Friday Dry Day' initiative.

"The corporation plans to release 20 lakh Gambusia fish across 7,130 water bodies in the city. Already, the malaria wing has released 8 lakh fish to curb the mosquito menace," officials said.