With dengue mosquitoes gaining immunity to mosquito repellents, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has decided to replace Kingfog medicine with a new drug called pyrethrum.

Ludhiana Municipal Corporation Medical Officer (Health) Dr Charanjit Singh Uppal said, “We have been instructed by the Health department to replace Kingfog with pyrethrum for door-to-door spray. We have placed the orders for the new drug.”

The MC has also intensified fogging operations in the city. Now, spraying is carried out bi-weekly instead of a weekly basis. Dr Uppal said,”Our daily expenditure of fogging is now around Rs 1.5 lakh, which includes cost of medicine and the cost of running it.”

This will continue till the time dengue patients are pouring in the city hospitals, he claimed.

Meanwhile the monthly expenditure of 16 fogging machines is around Rs 45 lakh as against Rs 30 lakh in the previous month when MC was going slow on the fogging operations.

Despite challan, no revenue for MC

Though over 215 challans have been issued to the city residents for not following precautionary measures to control dengue, not a single person has paid the fine. Dr Uppal said, “We have started sending them court notices.”

The councillors in various wards are trying to muscle in and force the MC authorities to quash these challans.