Municipal corporation installs new machine to curb mosquito menace in Vijayawada

The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has come up with a new measure to control mosquito menace in the city, and installed a ‘spot mosquito eliminator’ machine on a trial basis in Currency Nagar on Wednesday (March 4).

In a press statement, VMC Commissioner Dhyanachandra H.M. said the machine was found to be effective in curbing the menace during a review of its performance. The machine will soon be installed at key locations within VMC limits where mosquito density is high, he added.

Further, the corporation is also planning to use another device, ‘spot mosquito sensor trapper’, through which information about mosquitoes, such as whether they are male or female, whether they breed in stagnant/dirty water or clean water and if a specific species is involved, can be obtained. This information will help prevent mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, chikungunya and filaria, the Commissioner said.

He added that after installing the machines, their performance will be monitored through a centralised dashboard, which will provide real-time data on the number of male and female mosquitoes, the number of dengue-causing mosquitoes, and their exact locations. Based on this data, targeted spraying operations will be carried out using drones to eliminate mosquitoes and prevent health issues among citizens, the Commissioner said.

Chief Medical Officer of Health K. Arjuna Rao, Assistant Medical Health Officer Gopala Naik, Biologist V. Kameswara Rao and other staff members participated in the inspection of the machine at Currency Nagar.