Experts have raised questions about a recent foreign trip by four government officials and a ward councillor to Germany to acquire skills in operating mosquito fogging machines.

These officials and the ward councillor from Dhaka North City Corporation visited Germany from August 17-23 for a training at PulseFog, a prominent thermal fogger manufacturer, although they are not directly involved in anti-mosquito drives. 

The travel cost was borne by the German company, according to an office order by the LGD ministry.  

Recently, the DNCC bought 100 fogging machines from PulseFog, a DNCC official said.

Sources said the objective of the trip was to train the people involved in DNCC's anti-mosquito drives and the operation of the newly procured fogger machines.

The officials who were sent for the training are Md Nura Alam, LGD's Deputy Secretary; Ramendra Nath Biswas, Deputy Secretary and DNCC's Chief Store and Purchase Officer; Md Ziaur Rahman, Deputy Secretary and DNCC's Zonal Executive Officer (Zone 2); Mutakabbir Ahmed, Deputy Secretary and DNCC's Zonal Executive Officer (Zone 5); and Md Ahsan Habib, Sprayman Superviser in Zone 3 of DNCC. DNCC's ward-32 Councillor Syed Hasan Nur Islam accompanied the officials, according to the office order signed by LGD ministry Deputy Secretary Pintu Bepari.

Of them, only Ahsan Habib is directly involved in anti-mosquito drives.

The foreign training comes at a time when the country has been grappling with a record-breaking surge in Aedes mosquito-borne dengue outbreaks.

"Sending bureaucrats for the training makes no sense. The training could have been conducted in Dhaka rather than in Germany."

— Kabirul Bashar Entomologist and professor at Jahangirnagar University

"Sending bureaucrats for the training makes no sense. The training could have been conducted in Dhaka rather than in Germany," Kabirul Bashar, a renowned entomologist and professor at Jahangirnagar University told The Daily Star yesterday.

A more logical choice would have been to send individuals directly involved in mosquito control efforts, including fogger operators, entomologists, and health officials from the DNCC, for the training, he added.

"This should never have happened. Entomologists should have been sent for the training," said Dr Be-nazir Ahmed, former director of disease control unit at the Directorate General of Health Services.

He added that fogger machines are used to destroy culex mosquitoes. So entomologists could have contributed better if they were trained.

Contacted, Pintu Bepary, who signed the office order, said, "I just issued the letter upon instructions. So, I am unable to comment on the matter."

Selim Reza, Chief Executive Officer of DNCC, declined to comment on the rationale behind sending bureaucrats for the training.

Meanwhile, at least 16 dengue patients died, eight of them in Dhaka, in the last 24 hours till yesterday morning, according to health department data.

With this, the total death toll from dengue rose to 634, of which 464 were from outside Dhaka.

Some 2,608 dengue patients were hospitalised in the last 24 hours at different hospitals across the country, 892 of whom were in Dhaka.

With the new cases, the total number of dengue patients rose to 1,30,302. Of them, 60,484 are in Dhaka.

Currently, 8,845 dengue patients are undergoing treatment at different hospitals across the country, of whom 3,928 are in Dhaka.