Mosquitoes have laid siege to places along the banks of the Kestopur and Bagjola canals and the Eastern Drainage Channel in Salt Lake, Baguiati, Kestopur and parts of Rajarhat.

The reason: stagnant water in these canals.

The situation is such that residents are forced to keep their doors and windows shut at all times, many people who live in these areas have said.

More than one official of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation confirmed the water in these canals was stagnant.

Mayor Krishna Chakra-borty said she had requested the irrigation department to release water from the Hooghly into the canals to ensure the water starts flowing.

“We are taking all steps to keep the water in these canals flowing. We are working in coordination with the irrigation department to ensure that mosquitoes don’t breed in the canals,” Chakraborty said.

Weeds are being trimmed and bushes cleared, she said.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito that causes dengue can breed even in a coin-sized blob of water.

A Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation boat meant for spraying larvicide lies unused by the bank of the Eastern Drainage Channel near the Wipro crossing Snehal Sengupta

In Salt Lake, several blocks including AE, AB, BD, AC, AL, BL, SA AH situated off the Kestopur canal in sectors I and II as well blocks HB, IB, IC, KB and KC situated off the Eastern Drainage Channel in Sector III have reported an increase in the number of mosquitoes in the past couple of days.

“The water in the Kestopur canal has turned stagnant and it is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. I am keeping all my windows and doors shut as I don’t want to suffer from dengue again,” Shatarupa Bhowmick, a resident of SA Block who had suffered from dengue a year ago, said.

A Kestopur resident said mosquito nets were never taken off in her house.

“It is the only place safe from mosquitoes, be it day or night.”

The canal is a two-minute walk from her house, she said. “People are dumping garbage on the banks as well as in the canal because of which the water has stopped flowing,” Anamika Saha, who lives in Kestopur, said.

“We can see mosquitoes hovering over the water at all times of the day. The situation turns scary at night when swarms of mosquitoes take over the locality,” she said.

On Saturday afternoon, this newspaper spotted garbage piles along the banks of the Kestopur canal.

There were mosquitoes buzzing over the water of Eastern Drainage Channel. A large number of styrofoam cups, coconut shells, plastic cups and bags filled with water lined the banks of the two canals.

Pranay Kumar Ray, the mayoral council member who is in charge of health, said the corporation had been spraying larvicide and conducting door-to-door dengue surveys.

“We are doing everything we can. But awareness is the key and people should not allow freshwater to accumulate near their houses,” Ray said.