Mosquito menace on the rise in Brahmanbaria town

In many areas across the Brahmanbaria town, mosquitoes descend upon neighbourhoods every day after sunset. But these days, even during daytime, their numbers are so high that people are finding it hard to stay home.

However, there is no allocation of fund for the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases including dengue for the Brahmanbaria municipality.

Photo: Masuk Hridoy

Residents of the municipal area said there is no respite from mosquito menace despite closing doors and windows.

Sharmin Akter, a housewife of Bonikpara area said, "Mosquito problem is unbearable here. As soon as evening comes, lighting up a coil is a must. Or else you can't go two minutes without a mosquito biting."

Hasan Rabby, resident of Kandipara area said that swarm of mosquitoes enter the rooms just after darkness descends. Even if one wants to sleep at the day time, mosquito nets must be drawn.

The town dwellers allege that the situation has taken a such worse turn because of unscrupulous garbage dumping, which hasn't been cleaned for years causing stagnation of the canal flowing through the middle of the town.

The canal has divided the municipal area into two parts almost equally. The once mighty canal has now turned dead where garbage is dumped unscrupulously halting the natural flow of the canal and making it a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Moreover, mosquitoes are not being eradicated naturally due to lack of heavy rainfall.

On the other hand, the municipal authority has not taken any mosquito eradication programme for a long time resulting into severe mosquito menace.

Municipality sources said, the municipality consisting of 12 wards and 33 localities are home to about two lakh population.

Sohel Sarkar, a dweller of power house road area said that in the past municipal authority would spray mosquito repellents in different areas. But for the last four to five years the municipality has not taken any such initiative and the town canal is also not being cleaned. As a result, the number of mosquitoes is on the rise.

While visiting different areas of the town, this correspondent found swarm of mosquitoes flying on heaps of garbage in most of the localities like Kandipara, Kazipara, Mourail, Bonik Para, Paikpara. The total town has turned into a breeding ground of mosquitoes.

Contacted, Mustafizur Rahman, conservative inspector of Brahmanbaria Municipality, a concerned official in mosquito eradication, said, "I don't have any information in this regard, contact the secretary of the municipality."

Md Shamsuddin, secretary of the municipality said, "There is no allocation for mosquito eradication this year. Due to recent Hefajat mayhem larvicide and adulticide and spray machines were damaged by the fire set to municipal store room."

At present, they are running the programme somehow by their own fund, he claimed.