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New Delhi: A man from Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district walked into a police station carrying a plastic bag filled with mosquitoes, staging an unusual protest against the surge of the insects in his locality.
The resident of Vamanrao Lakhe ward, identified as Daulal Patel, said he was forced to take the extreme step to draw attention to the growing mosquito menace in the area. Patel feared that the mosquitoes could be carriers of dengue and other vector-borne diseases.
Concerned about the health risks, Patel first consulted a doctor, who advised him to get the mosquitoes tested. Taking the suggestion literally, Patel decided to bring the insects himself to the authorities.
Patel, along with social activist Vijay Sona and the Raipur Municipal Corporation’s leader of the opposition, Akash Tiwari, later approached the civic body’s headquarters, where they presented the mosquitoes packed in a polythene bag.
Municipal officials immediately contacted doctors and arranged for testing to allay public fears. The test results, however, brought some relief, as the insects were found to be ordinary mosquitoes and not carriers of dengue.
Opposition leader Akash Tiwari said the incident exposed the complete failure of the city’s mosquito-control system.
“On one hand, people are shown the dream of ‘Clean Raipur, Beautiful Raipur’. On the other, citizens are forced to catch mosquitoes and bring them to the municipal office. The reality is far worse than the slogans,” he said. Residents said the mosquito menace has reached alarming levels, leaving people in constant fear of dengue and malaria. Locals recalled that a young man from the same locality had died a few years ago due to a mosquito-borne illness.
“If citizens have to catch mosquitoes themselves and prove the problem to the authorities, one can only imagine the situation elsewhere in the city, let alone the rest of the state,” Tiwari added. Activist Vijay Sona said he had repeatedly complained to civic officials about mosquito breeding near his residence but claimed no action was taken. He alleged that a member of his family had already lost their life due to a mosquito-borne disease.
Tiwari further said that if the capital city is in such a poor condition, the situation in smaller towns is likely to be worse. In a statement, the Raipur Municipal Corporation said fogging and anti-larval spraying would be intensified in the affected areas. However, residents remain sceptical, pointing out that despite crores of rupees being spent every year on mosquito control, open drains and poor drainage continue to provide ideal breeding grounds.
