Syed Shemul Parvez :
City dwellers are in serious panic due to infestation of mosquitoes and the dengue infection every day.
Many residents said that it is the reign of mosquitoes and nothing else except disgusting. In this circumstance, Dhaka North City Corporation (DSCC) is thinking of using drones to kill mosquitoes though there is a proverb that ”to crush a butterfly on a wheel”.
Sources said that this arrangement is to provide pesticides in some places like canals and lake areas of the capital where it is not possible to spray medicine in the traditional way.
This home-made drone is capable of spraying at least 10 liters of larvicide in every two minutes.
Nowadays Culex reigns throughout the city and the origin of this mosquito is especially lakes and canals.
Dhaka North City Corporation Chief Health Officer Brigadier General Jobaidur Rahman said actually we have plan to spray pesticides by drones to kill mosquito in some places where people cannot reach easily.
In a ward, our main objective is that we can spray a lot of space within a short time through drones.
If this initiative becomes successful through home-made drones, work time will be saved, DNCC CEO added.
If the experiment is successful, this device will be brought to kill mosquitoes in the lake area of the capital, he further said.
When asked about the using of drones to kill the mosquito, eminent Entomologist Kabirul Bashar and a Zoology Professor of Jahangirnagar University, told the New Nation that using of drone devices is very common in the outer world. So I will define it as good natives of the government to control the infestation of mosquitoes in the capital.
Is there is any bad impact on human body providing pesticides in the capital, Dr Bashar said, actually city corporations are using medicine or pesticides according to the directions of World health Organization (WHO)
Actually WHO has fixed the rules of using pesticides to kill the mosquitoes which are tolerable to the human body, he said.
This special drives and activities should be continued throughout the year, instead of just during the mosquito season, Mr Bashar added.
When contacted, Chief Executive Officer of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) ABM Aman Ullah Nuri told the New Nation that using of drone in DSCC depends on experimental success of DNCC.
After observing the output, we will take decission about the use of drones, he added.
It is learned that this home made drone can fly for 25 minutes on a single battery and 50 minutes on a double battery. It can spray five liters of pesticide per minute.
This initially build drone is capable of carrying up to 20 liters.
Earlier,Bangladesh experienced a massive dengue outbreak in 2019, when 101,354 people were hospitalized. According to the health authorities, the mosquito-borne disease killed 179 people that year.
However, amid the deadly coronavirus pandemic, mosquito like dengue can still turn out to be a great threat to the people of Bangladesh, especially the residents of Dhaka.
