Mosquito density in Dhaka has increased alarmingly this season, with residents across the capital complaining of severe infestation of the insect and alleging inadequate control measures by the authorities.
People living in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Farmgate, Jatrabari, Badda, Rampura, Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Basabo and parts of Old Dhaka said the mosquito menace had made their daily lives unbearable.
Mosquitoes have made residents’ lives uncomfortable with constant buzzing, frequent bites and visible swarms, particularly in the morning and evening.
In this backdrop, prime minister Tarique Rahman on Tuesday directed the newly appointed administrators of six city corporations, including the two in Dhaka, to take swift measures to curb the spike in mosquito infestations.
He also instructed them to strengthen waste management activities and address other pressing urban challenges.
The six administrators, all leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, met local government minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and took charge of their responsibilities on Tuesday, two days after their appointment by the government.
Abu Bakar Siddik, a teacher residing in the capital’s Farmgate area, said that he had failed to protect his young daughters from mosquito bites even after using repellents and mosquito nets.
‘We use mosquito nets every night, but the density is so high that when someone steps out even briefly, mosquitoes enter and begin to bite. We face the same problem during the daytime,’ he said.
Entomologist and former chief scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, Touhid Uddin Ahmed, said that the population of Culex mosquitoes had risen sharply in the capital due to the absence of effective and sustained control measures.
Dhaka city dwellers usually suffer from two types of mosquitoes: Aedes and Culex.
While Aedes mosquitoes transmit dengue and chikungunya, Culex mosquitoes breed mainly in polluted water, stagnant drains and water bodies and cause significant nuisance.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services, at least four people have died of dengue fever and 1,451 others have been admitted to hospitals since January this year.
Aedes mosquitoes breed in clean water, particularly during the monsoon, whereas Culex mosquitoes proliferate in wastewater and clogged drainage systems, he added.
He warned that if authorities fail to control the Culex population, the situation may continue to worsen until July, leading to widespread public suffering.
Residents alleged that despite the growing menace, visible anti-mosquito drives remained limited.
Jaglul Hayder, a resident of Shimultala in Mirpur, said that he had not seen any city corporation staff conduct spraying or fogging operations in the past month.
Hasnat Imam of Delu Road of Dhaka South City Corporation echoed similar concerns, saying authorities were not taking adequate steps to bring the situation under control.
Dhaka South City Corporation chief executive officer Md Zahirul Islam, however, said that regular anti-mosquito activities were ongoing with their existing manpower.
Both Dhaka South and Dhaka North city corporations conduct larviciding to kill mosquito larvae and fogging, known as adulticiding, to eliminate adult mosquitoes. Officials said that they were examining the effectiveness of larviciding as mosquito density continued to rise despite ongoing efforts.
Entomologists said that larviciding is the most effective method of mosquito control, as killing adult mosquitoes alone is insufficient if breeding sources remain intact.
Dhaka North City Corporation chief health officer Brigadier General Imru-al-Quais said that mosquito density in the DNCC areas increased by about 30 per cent in February, compared with the previous month. He attributed the rise to favourable weather conditions, unclean drains and limited access to some areas.
City corporation officials claimed that anti-mosquito drives were being conducted twice a week in all areas, though many residents said they had not observed such activities on the ground.
Experts emphasised that authorities must identify and destroy breeding sources through proper mapping, particularly as the current temperature favours rapid mosquito breeding.
Entomologist GM Saifur Rahman said that this year’s winter was unusually short, with only one or two weeks of cooler weather, unlike previous years when colder temperatures persisted for three to four months and helped suppress mosquito populations.
He added that heavy rainfall capable of flushing out stagnant water could help reduce the mosquito population naturally.
