Kolkata Deploys Drones To Fight Against Dengue Outbreak

There is never a dull moment in the city of joy. Kolkata has, for ages, inspired poets, attracted globetrotting travellers and, been an enthralling muse for artists, thinkers and philosophers from around India.

But the joyous and inspirational side of Kolkata kept aside, there are a few humbugs that have often played the role of a thorn in the blossoming of Kolkata. Particularly when it comes to the state of the city’s healthcare, there have been more woes than one would have liked.

Outbreak of communicable diseases is common and timely treatment for the same- whether in governmental or private healthcare facilities- is more often than not, a figment of imagination.

Recently, with the year is drawing to a close, there emerged a new crisis in the path of Kolkata- that of countering the outbreak of a new disease: dengue. The dengue outbreak in the city has marred the otherwise happy go lucky spirit of a city that is forever brimming with hope and energy.

But Kolkata has found a rather interesting way to counter the outbreak of the new challenge lying in its path. There are reports that Kolkata plans to deploy several drones to curb the dengue outbreak so that breeding grounds for the mosquitos may be identified by the city.

Where figures from the month of November are concerned, it has been reported that as many as 40 people have perished due to dengue. This is no lame statistic. For a city that is both developed and urban in every sense, such casualties create a major blotch in the reputation of what is sizeably an enormous Indian city.

According to local authorities, the main purpose behind deployment of several drones across Kolkata would be conduct surveillance of rooftops of multi-storey buildings, including those that are under construction as well as subjecting bridges and flyovers to ‘drone surveillance’. The former are particularly important as these are regions that are difficult to access using conventional means.

Usually, one of the common sources that act as breeding grounds for dengue is collection of stagnated water. In which case, officials from the Kolkata Metropolitan Corporation are of the view that the moment stagnated water is spotted in any building premises, the KMC will first issue to the owners to act against it (or remove it). Then, if the owners at a concerned property do not act towards taking a safeguarding measure, then the KMC will initiate legal measures against them.

That said, Kolkata is yet to decide on to how many drones to deploy and how many areas are to be brought under the radar for drone surveillance.