Kochi Corporation formulates action plan to combat mosquito menace

The Kochi Corporation has formulated a three-phase action plan, spanning three weeks, to tackle the worsening mosquito proliferation in the city.

The plan was prepared at a meeting of health officials convened by Mayor V.K. Minimol and Deputy Mayor Deepak Joy ahead of the maiden session of the newly elected Corporation Council held on Tuesday. Mosquito proliferation, drinking water shortage, and stray dog menace dominated the meeting, with councillors across party lines repeatedly raising these issues.

“Health inspectors and junior health inspectors from all 21 health circles of the Corporation have been instructed to consult the respective division councillors and implement the action plan with necessary modifications within the next two or three days. In addition, mass fogging will be carried out in the mornings and evenings. Spraying to eliminate mosquito larvae will also be intensified, and directions have been issued to repair spraying machines,” said Mayor Minimol.

An emergency meeting will be held with Kerala Water Authority officials to address the acute drinking water shortage across the city. The State government has been approached for the construction of a new overhead tank, as the storage tank at the Thammanam pump house that caved in last year is beyond repair. Councillor N.X. Likhitha lamented that households in her division, Perumbadappu, have been receiving contaminated water, raising fears of an epidemic.

On the stray dog menace, Ms. Minimol said a proposal to intensify the animal birth control programme, while adhering to Supreme Court directions, will be drawn up once the health standing committee becomes operational. She added that an emergency meeting with the District Collector will be convened to review Operation Breakthrough projects, particularly the restoration of the Mullassery canal, which “cannot be allowed to go on like this.”

The Mayor also directed the secretary to resolve the biomedical waste collection issue within ten days, following Opposition criticism of her media statement that the fee had been raised to ₹45 per kilogram by the previous council, despite a decision to subsidise it at ₹12 per kilogram. She explained that the agency identified to operate two incinerators at Brahmapuram for two years at a cost of ₹22 lakh had deemed the estimate insufficient, as it did not account for fuel and dryer expenses.

Ms. Minimol further clarified that Daily Labour Rate (DLR) workers at the division level should not be dismissed simply due to a change in councillors, citing High Court directions. She noted that restructuring the deployment of DLR workers in line with new health circles and divisions would take time. Meanwhile, the user fee hike for doorstep waste collection – from ₹150 to ₹200 – approved by the previous council will be implemented, along with necessary amendments to the bye-law.