The mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Sayeed Khokon on Tuesday said the city-dwellers will face jail or fine if they are found creating the conditions for Aedes mosquitoes to breed in their homes during city corporation drives.
“No citizen will be harassed and the operations will not be conducted in all areas. Executive magistrates will conduct the drives following the information provided by the local representatives,” he said.
Sayeed Khokon first voiced the threat on Monday while addressing a function at City Hall as chief guest.
“The actions against household owners will include fines and jail terms, if Aedes mosquito breeding grounds are found in their houses,” he had said then.
Despite drawing a fair amount of criticism and even ridicule, he repeated the threat yesterday addressing a programme to release schools of guppy fish into the sewerage system at Kazi Alauddin Road of the Old Town as part of ‘Clean Dhaka’ project.
A total of 10,000 guppies will be released into the sewerage system of DSCC area- 4 to prevent the outbreak of Culex mosquitoes, that vector arbovirus infections such as West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis, or St. Louis encephalitis, but also filariasis and avian malaria, the mayor said. Aedes mosquitoes, that vector dengue and chikungunya, reproduce in abandoned still waters of residential areas. The drives will be conducted to save the city dwellers from Aedes mosquitoes from April 8, he added.
