Mumbai: Chemical shortage disrupts fogging activities in city

Deltamethrin stock got depleted as it was used extensively in the place of other chemicals, officials said. File pic

Fogging activities in the city to control mosquitoes have faced disruption due to the limited availability of certain pest control chemicals. This has alarmed some residents, causing concerns about a possible surge in vector-borne diseases after Mumbai experienced spikes in dengue and malaria during the monsoon.

In a letter to BMC authorities, local activist Godfrey Pimenta from the Watchdog Foundation said, "We wish to bring to your attention the critical issue of the recent surge in vector-borne diseases in K East Ward and across the other wards of Mumbai. The cessation of the use of deltamethrin, an organophosphate pesticide, for the past 15 days has resulted in a concerning rise in cases of diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, etc." Deltamethrin happens to be one of the several chemicals used in fogging machines.

Speaking to mid-day, Pimenta noted that the issue was brought to his attention by a local corporator. "I have also noticed a sudden spike in mosquitoes in and around my office premises in Andheri East," he said.

However, K East ward's medical officer of health, Dr Mahendra Khandade stated that there is no surge in vector-borne diseases. "The ward faced a lot of issues a couple of months ago, but since then, all vector-borne diseases have shown a sharp decline," he said.

This was also the case with G North and G South ward, which have historically recorded some of the highest cases of vector-borne diseases due to construction activities and the prevalence of old mills.

Officials confirmed to mid-day that there was a shortage of deltamethrin and added that at the moment, the city is experiencing a rise in ‘nuisance'-causing mosquitoes and not those that spread vector-borne diseases. "Deltamethrin stock got depleted as it was used extensively in the place of other chemicals which were unavailable due to technical reasons. Now the shortages for other chemicals have been addressed and approval has been given by the high authorities to obtain deltamethrin and an order has already been placed," the official said.