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Around 60 percent of households surveyed by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) were found to have mosquito larvae, a development described as alarming by DSCC Administrator and freedom fighter Md Abdus Salam.
He said the city corporation alone would not be able to control the mosquito menace simply by applying insecticides unless a strong social effort was built to prevent mosquito breeding.
Abdus Salam made the remarks while addressing a review meeting on strengthening mosquito control activities at the Nagar Bhaban auditorium on Monday.
Emphasising the destruction of mosquito breeding grounds, regular larviciding and fogging, cleanliness drives and increased public awareness, he said mosquito control could not be achieved through insecticide spraying alone.
“Mosquito breeding grounds must be destroyed, cleanliness drives conducted regularly and citizens directly involved in the effort,” he said.
Referring to recent DSCC drives, the administrator said construction sites were among the places where mosquito breeding was found to be particularly prevalent.
He said many developers were spending crores of taka to construct buildings but were failing to take adequate measures to prevent mosquito breeding on their premises.
Abdus Salam urged residents to take immediate action after rainfall by removing stagnant water from courtyards, rooftops, flower pots and discarded containers.
He also called for greater cooperation between the city corporation and residents to build a healthier and mosquito-free city.
Speaking to journalists, the DSCC administrator expressed hope that if the current surge in dengue cases could be brought under control over the next one or two months, the situation could improve significantly this year.
He urged journalists and citizens to suggest additional measures that could be taken by both the city corporation and residents to strengthen dengue prevention efforts.
“We all need to work together to overcome this dengue surge,” he said.