World Mosquito Day is observed every year on 20 August in the memory of British doctor, Sir Ronald Ross who discovered that the female mosquito transmits malaria between humans, in 1897. The theme for World Mosquito Day 2021 is 'Reaching the zero malaria target'.
During the period of seven and a half months from January, the Pesticide Department of the BMC during its regular inspection found Dengue vector larvae at 39,481 places and larvae of malaria-carrying mosquitoes at 7,922 places.
During these raids, 12,038 tires and 2,80,987 other waste materials which could be potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes have also been removed, said BMC Officer Rajan Naringrekar.
About 1,500 staffers of the Pesticides Department of BMC work regularly conducts surveys and inspect various parts of Mumbai.
During the inspection, water in tanks, tarpaulins, lying tires, trays under tree trunks, ornamental tree trunks, decorative items, coconut husks is inspected and if mosquito breeding grounds are found during this inspection, the breeding grounds are immediately destroyed.
