KARACHI, Sept 4: The cases of malaria are on the rise as the number of mosquitoes is increasing owing to the stagnant water accumulated after the recent monsoon showers.

Confirming that the rise in malaria cases, especially in the low-lying areas, a number of doctors said that ponds developed in various parts of the city in the wake of stagnant rainwater had become mosquito breeding grounds and the town municipal administrations had not yet launched any anti-mosquito campaign.

Emphasising the need for immediately undertaking anti-mosquito drive in the city, they urged the city government officials concerned to ensure that proper fumigation was carried out at major open nullahs.

Criticising the trend of covering nullahs either for using them as parking lots or for constructing shops and buildings, concerned citizens demanded of the city nazim to discourage such illegal practices because kundi-men as well as malaria coolies responsible for cleaning silt and undertaking spray work in the nullahs often express their helplessness in performing their jobs at such places which are either heavily encroached upon or covered.

In this regard, they cited the example of a number of covered nullahs which are passing through Urdu Bazar, Light House Cinema, Bahadur Shah Zafar market, adjacent to Shaheen Complex and Clifton’s nullah, near Jamaatkhana and the one running parallel to Abul Hassan Isphani Road in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, saying that the citizens had to suffer a lot during recent rains as they could not be cleaned properly as they were either covered or heavily encroached upon.