LAHORE, Nov 15: The City District Government has failed to check the breeding of mosquitoes in the provincial metropolis by carrying out insecticide sprays for the past two years.

The spray of insecticides is required to be carried out on all possible breeding places in the city and its adjoining rural areas’ stagnant ponds twice a year in March/ April and September/ October.

The spray was not carried out last year because the insecticides could not be procured due to delay in sanction of the required funds. It could not be carried out in all parts of the city this year because the funds were sanctioned late and survey to identify rural areas’ stagnant ponds was also not carried out. The survey has yet to be conducted.

Sources said that earlier the federal government provided anti-larvacide insecticide to provincial governments under a malaria programme. The responsibility had been transferred to the CDG since the devolution of power last year.

The officials, however, claimed to have sprinkled anti-mosquito Dalta Mathrine and DD-VP on 150 ponds located in the city.

They also claimed that the insecticides used remained effective more than six months after the spray but reports suggest otherwise as in various parts of the city including, Iqbal Town, Faisal Town, Township, Johar Town, Shadbagh and Walled City the mosquitos are rampant even after the start of winter.

An epidemic control official of the district government on condition of anonymity told Dawn on Friday that to sprinkle Dalta Mathrine and DD-VP spray in all stagnant ponds was not practically possible because there were countless ponds in the city.

He said unless the government provided them with funds in time and manpower, they could not ensure to cover all stagnant ponds. The government had allocated an amount of Rs5.6million this year which was yet to be released.