Kolkata civic body to use drone to kill mosquitoes

Kolkata, Nov 21 (IANS) The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has procured a drone to search and kill mosquito larvae for preventing spread of vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria, a top official said on Thursday.

The drone, christened Vinash, can fly up to a height of 20-storey building and is fitted with a Global Positioning System.

“The drone will click images of buildings and other spots which are inaccessible to us,” said KMC Deputy Mayor Atin Ghosh, who launched the hi-tech unmanned vehicle.

The drone also has a robotic hand that will collect samples from water and on the ground.

“After testing the samples if we find any of these inaccessible areas are breeding grounds of mosquitoes, we will use it to spray insecticides and kill the mosquitoes,” said Ghosh.

A container is attached to the drone for storing the pesticides. It also has a hooter that will become operational when the drone sprays the pesticides.

Several people have died and a large number got afflicted with mosquito-borne diseases including dengue and chikungunya in the city this year.