New insecticide sample kills only 26pc mosquitoes

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) on Friday tested the efficacy of a new insecticide procured from abroad to kill mosquitoes amid the outbreak of dengue in all 64 districts of the country, city corporation officials said.

The results of three different tests, however, showed a very low success rate, the highest being only 26 per cent.

The DSCC workers sprayed the insecticide with fogging machines around three nets, set up in front of the DSCC headquarters, from three-feet away in the morning. Each of the nets contained 50 mosquitoes.

After half an hour, the tests showed only 22, 26 and 18 per cent of the mosquitoes died, the officials said.

The city corporation conducted the tests amid heavy criticism of the insecticide it used and the competence and committment of the body in general.

Earlier on 28 July, members of a forum, Muktijuddha Mancha, burnt effigies of health minister Zahid Maleque and mayors of Dhaka South and North city corporations, Sayeed Khokon and Atiqul Islam on Dhaka University campus.

They also demanded their resignation for “failure to take action to kill mosquitoes.”

On the following day, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) also demanded resignation of the health minister and mayors of Dhaka South and North city corporations.

DSCC sources said the new insecticide, brought from abroad, is still at the testing stage. Final results on the effectiveness of the medicine, produced by ‘Bayer Corporation’, will be known after 24 hours.

Member of a research team from India, Shuva Dey, told newsmen that the insecticide cannot be sprayed when it is raining or when the wind velocity is more than 15 kilometres.

Mentioning that the medicine is effective against mosquitoes, he warned that it had side-effects on the environment.

DSCC chief executive officer Mostafizur Rahman, secretary Mostafa Kamal Majumder and chief health officer brigadier general Md Sharif Ahmed were also present during the tests.

Prothom Alo correspondent phoned chief store and purchase officer Md Nuruzzaman and store and purchase officer Liakat Hossain for information about details of Bayer Corporation and the insecticide but they did not answer any call.