KMC advisory to Puja bodies caution against mosquito breeding
The Statesman | 26 August 2025
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has issued an advisory for Durga Puja Committees outlining the preventive measures for mosquito breeding during the ongoing monsoon season.
The health wing of the civic body has sent the list of dos and don’ts in a letter to various Puja committees urging them to adhere to the steps to prevent the breeding of the Aedes aegypti. In the list of the dos and don’ts, the puja committees have been asked to wrap the cut ends of the vertical bamboos with cloth to prevent water accumulation. Simultaneously, the cut ends have been asked to be sealed with mud or sand. The Puja organisers have asked to remove all the accumulated water from pits, pot holes or any other low-lying patches around the pandals. As the third point of the advisory, the committees have been urged to ensure that rain water does not accumulate in the bamboo-made structures meant for advertising purposes during the Pujas.
The health department has also decided to inspect various pandals to ensure that the advisory is followed. “The most auspicious Durga Puja is at our doorstep, and construction of puja pandals is in full swing across Kolkata,” said the deputy mayor of KMC. “At this time, we must remain highly alert against dengue. Every puja pandal and its adjoining areas must be kept free from mosquito breeding to ensure that no one falls prey to dengue during the Puja days,” added the member-mayor-in-council for health today.