MCD to promote mosquito-proof coolers
By IANSFriday, December 3, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Friday asked the city residents to use special mosquito-proof coolers (MPC) to keep dengue and chikungunya at bay.
The civic body is planning to publish advertisements to make people aware about these coolers which are environment friendly. The coolers were developed by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in 2007.
According to the MCD health department, 70 percent of mosquito breeding in the national capital has been found in coolers.
“As coolers are a favourite breeding spot of mosquitoes and the cause of increasing dengue cases in Delhi, using the MPC will help stop larvae breeding,” MCD health committee chairman V.K. Monga said.
MPC developed by the NCDC has a modified water tank that completely covers the water inside the cooler tank with a metallic sheet to prevent mosquitoes from entering and breeding. There is no need to sprinkle harmful chemicals in its water tank to stop mosquito breeding.
Over 20,000 cases of diseases caused by mosquitoes were reported this year with 82 deaths across the country. Among them over 6,000 dengue and 70 chikungunya cases were reported from Delhi.
