Drones deployed to identify Aedes breeding grounds in Dhaka’s rooftop gardens

The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has deployed drones to help detect and eradicate the larvae of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, carriers of the dengue virus, in the city amid an alarming outbreak of the disease.

The effort to aerially identify potential mosquito breeding sites produced positive results last year, prompting the authorities to re-implement the initiative this year, according to Md Selim Reza, chief executive officer of the DNCC, reports bdnews24.com.

The drone survey officially began at the Shuchona Community Centre in Mohammadpur's Adabor on Tuesday, and has been ongoing in five neighbourhoods under the DNCC's jurisdiction.

The drones are able to fly within a 2-km radium of the control room and scan the rooftops of high-rise buildings, said Selim.

Drone photos help in identifying rooftops with stagnant water, and city officials then go there and destroy the Aedes larvae.

The DNCC aims to complete the drone survey within 15 working days. It will also run a mosquito extermination campaign across the city from Jul 8-13.

 “Some plots have walls around them, so our staff cannot enter them. We can get photos from inside those [to find stagnant water]. We have fridges in our houses and the city corporation staff is unable to see where water is stored. Hence, we need everyone's cooperation in this initiative. Only then can we contain Aedes mosquitoes,” said Chief Health Officer Brig Gen AKM Shafiqur Rahman.

Last year, the drone survery provided visual data from 365,000 buildings, and 2,800 of them had rooftop gardens. Aedes larvae were later discovered in at least 250 residences. “Drones can’t identify the larvae, but can show the rooftop gardens with stagnant water,” said the chief health officer.

Officials plan to survey the rooftops of every house in the DNCC area, said CEO Selim Reza. “We’re flying five drones today [Wednesday] and want to destroy the hotspots after identifying them. We want citizens to take part in this initiative.

"The Aedes mosquito breeds in the stagnant water that accumulates in open places. Due to the impact of climate change, Aedes mosquitoes have a suitable environment for breeding. These days, it rains and then the sun comes out immediately. If there’s stagnant water for three days, it becomes a breeding spot for Aedes mosquitoes,” he said.

Reza says the city authority is taking the threat of dengue very seriously and has enlisted the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps, Bangladesh Girl Guides, imams, madrasa teachers, high school teachers, and college teachers in the initiative.

 “Our teams are going to schools to motivate students to take steps against the threat of mosquito-borne diseases. We want to highlight the issue in textbooks and want the imams to talk about it during the weekly sermons in mosques,” he said.

 “The media report that the Aedes mosquito menace will be severe this year. So, none of us can sit idle. We declared a war against Aedes mosquitoes and we want all of you to join the war."