Cuttack, Jan. 15: Breakdown of several portable fogging machines has cast a shadow on the civic body's plan to tackle mosquito menace here. The second phase of the civic body's fogging operation will begin tomorrow.

According to sources, almost 20 per cent of the civic body's portable fogging machines are already lying defunct, while several others had developed technical snags recently. The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has 94 such fogging machines, 35 of which are out of order. So, the CMC can deploy only one machine for fogging operations in the city's 59 wards.

The sources said nearly two to three machines were developing technical snags almost every day. This had created problems in launching fogging operations in several localities during the first phase of the drive in December.

A civic official, requesting anonymity, said in 2015, they had proposed repair and maintenance of the 94 machines for an estimated Rs 3 lakh. However, the CMC had taken no steps in that regard.

"It is unfortunate that despite frequent dengue outbreaks, the CMC is ill-equipped to combat the mosquito menace, which has assumed serious proportions here," said Mahandi Vihar resident Sachidanand Das.

Das said while the civic staff were fogging the locality last month, the machines had to be stopped midway after it developed a major snag. Despite repeated attempts, they could not fix the problem on the spot, he said.

Ranjan Biswal, chairman of the CMC's standing committee on public health, claimed that the corporation had come up with a detailed plan to combat the mosquito menace.

"We have fixed a 15-day programme for a fogging drive in all 59 wards apart by using a large vehicle-mounted machine into service," he said.

The CMC procured the vehicle-mounted fogging machine for Rs 11 lakh following last year's dengue outbreak. According to sources, the machine would mainly be used to cover wider roads and open spaces, including near Barabati Stadium, Cantonment Road, Mangalabag, Ranihat, College Square, Badambadi, Buxi Bazaar, Dolmundai, Jagatpur and Madhupatna.