Surat: As monsoon showers and flooding created ideal conditions for mosquito proliferation, the Surat Municipal Corporation’s health teams identified nearly 19 lakh potential mosquito breeding spots across the city in just nine days, underscoring the scale of the public health challenge.Teams from the Surat Municipal Corporation’s health department identified about 19 lakh potential mosquito breeding spots during a citywide drive between July 1 and July 9, officials said. Conducted by around 550 employees of the vector-borne disease control division, the campaign involved rapid inspections of residential areas, commercial premises and construction sites. Based on the findings, teams detected roughly one potential breeding location every minute during the operation.According to SMC, teams surveyed 5.54 lakh homes and found more than three water-accumulation points per household on average. Officials said the rapid survey aimed to curb mosquito breeding during the monsoon and reduce the risk of vector-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria.The drive coincided with heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of Surat. Flooding began on July 7 and several localities remained waterlogged until July 9, conditions that health officials said could significantly increase mosquito breeding if stagnant water is not cleared promptly.Construction sites emerged as a major concern during the inspections, with officials describing them as one of the biggest challenges for mosquito control in the city. Multi-storey projects often contain numerous locations where water can accumulate, including open slabs, basements, curing pits, stored materials and unattended containers.“In a home, if water accumulation is found in a flowerpot, it is counted as one spot. At a construction site, if water accumulation is found on one floor, it is considered one spot, and there are many floors in a building,” a health official said.
