Around
11am on Wednesday, the Mumbai International Airport's mosquito-infested
Terminal 2, hailed as one of the swankiest in the country, received
around 10 bug-killing devices specially designed by the scientists at
the NASA.
The devices, each costing Rs 70,000, appear nondescript: a one-and-a-half-ft tall olive green box mounted on a stand, and attached to a cylinder filled with carbon dioxide, but those are being labeled 'the most lethal bug killing system' requiring zero maintenance.
Aviral Resources, the firm appointed by the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to tackle the mosquito menace, claims a single device can kill up to 15,000 mosquitoes every night.
Since the time the terminal was thrown open to public on February 12 this year, the MIAL has tried every mosquito-killing tactic in the book, even as flyers continued to highlight the problem through tweets and Facebook posts.
After the regular mosquito repellents, electric zappers and mosquito mats failed, the MIAL turned off the water fountains at the terminal (the fountains were termed as 'major attraction' during the launch) and even put guppy fish into the Meethi river and the gutters near the airport hoping they will feast on the mosquitoes.
City based advertising executive Sanjeev Singhai, who's used the terminal a few times, said there has been no respite from mosquitoes even in the business class lounge. "The terminal is otherwise a world-class structure and Mumbaiites are proud of it, but the authorities must address this problem," he said.
How the device works
Acreation of Nasa, the US government agency that leads aeronautics and aerospace research globally and is responsible for the American civil space programme, the device works on "mosquitoes' natural hunting techniques of heat-sensing and carbon dioxide detection," an MIAL spokesperson said.
"The device creates temperatures similar to humans and also releases exactly the same amount of carbon dioxide that a human body releases. Through thermal imagery and the measured release of carbon dioxide, the mosquitoes are drawn to the device, which captures and kills them," the spokesperson said, adding that the Aviral Resources officials claimed a single device can kill up to 15,000 mosquitoes a night.
A BMC audit of the possible breeding grounds of mosquitoes, conducted following an MIAL request, revealed the problem was caused due to the airport's proximity to the Meethi river and the nullahs.
The airport spokesperson said that Aviral Resources has been roped in to carry out fumigation of the terminal twice a day, and also along the Meethi River stretch.
"Since the first week of March, Aviral officials along with the BMC have been fumigating the terminal twice a day and also spots along the Meethi river," the airport spokesperson said.
The devices, each costing Rs 70,000, appear nondescript: a one-and-a-half-ft tall olive green box mounted on a stand, and attached to a cylinder filled with carbon dioxide, but those are being labeled 'the most lethal bug killing system' requiring zero maintenance.
Aviral Resources, the firm appointed by the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to tackle the mosquito menace, claims a single device can kill up to 15,000 mosquitoes every night.
Since the time the terminal was thrown open to public on February 12 this year, the MIAL has tried every mosquito-killing tactic in the book, even as flyers continued to highlight the problem through tweets and Facebook posts.
After the regular mosquito repellents, electric zappers and mosquito mats failed, the MIAL turned off the water fountains at the terminal (the fountains were termed as 'major attraction' during the launch) and even put guppy fish into the Meethi river and the gutters near the airport hoping they will feast on the mosquitoes.
City based advertising executive Sanjeev Singhai, who's used the terminal a few times, said there has been no respite from mosquitoes even in the business class lounge. "The terminal is otherwise a world-class structure and Mumbaiites are proud of it, but the authorities must address this problem," he said.
How the device works
Acreation of Nasa, the US government agency that leads aeronautics and aerospace research globally and is responsible for the American civil space programme, the device works on "mosquitoes' natural hunting techniques of heat-sensing and carbon dioxide detection," an MIAL spokesperson said.
"The device creates temperatures similar to humans and also releases exactly the same amount of carbon dioxide that a human body releases. Through thermal imagery and the measured release of carbon dioxide, the mosquitoes are drawn to the device, which captures and kills them," the spokesperson said, adding that the Aviral Resources officials claimed a single device can kill up to 15,000 mosquitoes a night.
A BMC audit of the possible breeding grounds of mosquitoes, conducted following an MIAL request, revealed the problem was caused due to the airport's proximity to the Meethi river and the nullahs.
The airport spokesperson said that Aviral Resources has been roped in to carry out fumigation of the terminal twice a day, and also along the Meethi River stretch.
"Since the first week of March, Aviral officials along with the BMC have been fumigating the terminal twice a day and also spots along the Meethi river," the airport spokesperson said.
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