BMC kills 2L rodents to curb Leptospirosis during Monsoon

The BMC Insecticide department has killed more than two lakh rodents in the past six months to curb the rise of infectious diseases during monsoons.

Dr Rajan Naringrekar, an Insecticide officer with the BMC has said that the department is seriously working towards ensuring that people are educated on the symptoms of Leptospirosis and more deaths are prevented in the near future.

"The pest control happens throughout the year but we run a special scheme before the monsoons to ensure that the fear of Leptospirosis is kept under control," he told ANI.

He further said that the process of eliminating rats takes place in Mumbai throughout the night, aided by traditional rat control methods like poison and rat traps.

Dr Rajan also stated that those involved in the task were provided gloves and masks, along with clean rat traps.

The recent spate of increasing deaths due to Leptospirosis in Mumbai has raised serious concerns in the city of Mumbai.

There have been at least three confirmed deaths reported due to Leptospirosis in Mumbai this year.

The BMC outsourced some of its extermination work to 137 rat killers who were deployed in areas that face frequent waterlogging and flooding.

Most rats were exterminated in M-East ward (Mankhurd, Govandi and Chembur) 32,935 followed by E ward (Byculla, Mumbai Central and Nagpada) 23,762, N ward (Ghatkopar East) 23685, A ward (Colaba) 23252, and D ward (Mumbai Central and Nagpada) 18,463 wards.