Dengue and chikungunya outbreak: Arvind Kejriwal launches fogging drive to make Delhi 'free of mosquitoes'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday launched the fogging drive from his residence at Flag Staff Road. The Delhi government’s month-long intensive fogging drive has been launched across the city to make it “free of mosquitoes”, the carriers of chikungunya and dengue virus.

Kejriwal, soon after returning from Bengaluru, had spelt out the roadmap in this regard by calling for a “war” to exterminate mosquitoes. He had ordered the procurement of fogging machines.

Accordingly, the drive has begun with 200 fogging machines and by September 26, 600 machines will be deployed, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said earlier.

“We will make Delhi mosquito-free,” Sisodia had said. “Although fogging is the job of the municipal bodies but we will supplement their efforts since it is a period of crisis. We have prepared a comprehensive plan according to which fogging will be undertaken in each and every lane of Delhi every alternate day.”

But experts have time and again highlighted the pitfalls of excessive focus on fogging which they say does not achieve anything more than producing a feel-good effect among people, as it hits only the adult mosquitoes, “and not the larvae that are the source of breeding”.