Metropolis Desk-
Drones have been used by Dhaka North City Corporation to locate mosquito breeding grounds, particularly on residential rooftop gardens.
To locate accumulated water on rooftops, DNCC Chief Executive Officer Selim Reza inaugurated the survey program in the Mohammadpur neighborhood at about 11:00 am this morning.
He also mentioned that on July 8 a month-long effort to speed up the ongoing battle against Aedes mosquitoes will begin. “The monsoon season has seen an upsurge in the Aedes mosquito population. To get rid of Aedes mosquitoes, the DNCC has chosen to use drones to check if water has gathered on rooftops, Reza said.
Five different drones will be used over the course of the next four days to inspect every rooftop in the city.
Reza clarified that it is impractical to perform surveys by personally visiting every roof because of how close together the houses are in the city.
Instead, he continued, “Using drones makes it possible to survey rooftops within an area of about two kilometers from a single location, and the five drones will be used to survey the rooftops of homes throughout the entire city.”
Mobile courts will also help to streamline the survey activities, he added.
He warned homeowners that immediate fines would be applied if mosquito larvae were found on house roofs and urged them to keep their yards clean to prevent the reproduction of Aedes mosquitoes, which spread the dengue virus.
Brig Gen AKM Shafiqur Rahman, the chief health officer for the DNCC, and a few local council members attended the event.
