City polls: Candidates pledge to free Sylhet city from mosquito menace

Mayoral and councillor aspirants in the upcoming Sylhet City Corporation polls have pledged that if they are elected, they will work to eradicate the ever-growing mosquito menace in the city.

With the polls slated for 21 June, the issue of mosquitoes remains a major concern for city dwellers. They have blamed the city corporation for the lack of adequate measures to curb the insects.

BNP-backed outgoing mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury, who is yet to decide on running in the upcoming polls, said he had allocated around Tk2 crore in the budget each year in his tenure to prevent mosquitoes.

"A lot of new machines, including fogging machines, have been purchased during my tenure. But, the City Corporation alone cannot control mosquitoes. Residents should be aware of this. If they stop throwing garbage everywhere, including canals, the menace of mosquitoes will come down to a large extent," he added. 

However, Awami League nominated mayoral candidate Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury said, "If I am elected, I will take effective steps to eliminate mosquitoes from the city. I will also take advice from experts as well".

Talking to this correspondent, many residents of Upashahar, Shibganj, Sobhanighat, Tillagarh, Subid Bazar, Madina Market, Kajal Shah, Shamimabad said that mosquito infestation has increased in every area of the city compared to previous years, and the prevention measures of the SCC are relatively less this time.

However, Chief Health Officer of the Sylhet City Corporation Dr Jahidul Islam acknowledged that the civic body has failed to control mosquitoes in Sylhet.

"For the past two years, we have focused on dengue control, and have succeeded in this… Now, the focus will be on eradicating mosquitoes. Hopefully, the city residents will get the benefits before Eid," he said.

According to the SCC health wing, the city corporation is currently unable to spray repellent simultaneously in 27 wards of the city, due to lack of workers.