Patna, June 2: Monsoon is near and you would be better off prepared for the onslaught of mosquitoes.

Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) is hardly carrying out any fogging in the 72 wards, as they cannot bear the operational cost of the fumigation machines.

The rains are set to hit the state capital in the next two weeks. So is the fear of different mosquito-borne diseases. However, that is of less concern to the civic body.

Sources in the civic body said carrying out fogging in each of the 72 wards was very expensive and so the corporation could not undertake the activity on a daily basis.

“There is one fogging machine each in the four circles — Bankipore, Patna City, New Capital and Kankerbagh. According to the norms, one ward in each circle should be fumigated for at least three hours every day. However, it rarely happens because of high operation costs,” said a source.

Ramswarath Singh, the PMC chief engineer, admitting that fumigation is not regular in the wards said the circles carry out the activity at their own levels. “I do not remember we did any extensive fumigation during this period last year also,” he told The Telegraph.

Sheshank Shekhar Sinha, the executive officer of New Capital circle, pleaded high operation costs and dysfunctional machines. He said running the machine for three hours every day consumes about 130l of diesel and 1kg malathion, an insecticide with low human toxicity, which is mostly effective against the aedes mosquito.

“It costs about Rs 4,000 per day. We carry out fogging almost every day in one ward and have been covering 29 wards — out of a total 72 — falling under our jurisdiction. However, the machine is very old and often becomes dysfunctional. Even these days it is lying idle and we are not being able to carry out fumigation because of that. We will get it repaired soon,” said Sinha.

Residents, meanwhile, blame the corporation for the spread of many vector-borne diseases. “If the machines are old and cannot serve the purpose, why can’t the corporation buy small fogging machines ranging between Rs 45,000 and 50,000 for all the 72 wards? Each machine should be given to the ward councillors who can ensure fogging with help of temporary workers, especially during the dengue and malaria season. The councillors should also provide medicines,” said Smita Sharma, a resident of Naya Tola.

Sources added as the operation cost of the machines in each circles reach up to Rs 5 lakh each month, fumigation is not very extensive throughout the year. “Moreover, the machines are very old and are frequently out of order. The PMC cannot buy new machines because of lack of funds as these are costly — they cost about Rs 30 lakh each,” said a source in the civic body.

Sinha, meanwhile, said the impact of fumigation was not evident. He, however, blamed resistance of the mosquitoes towards the insecticide for the problem. “The insecticide is not proving to be very effective any more. We are trying to look for an alternative,” he said.