Dubai: Dubai Municipality has intensified a mosquito control campaign in view of a growing number of complaints from residents, an official said on Monday
Hesham Abdul Rahman Al Yehya, director of the Pest Control Section, said on Monday that the municipality has covered 30,720 sites in Dubai in the last four months to identify factors that lead to the spread of mosquitoes.
Fines worth Dh100,000 have been slapped on companies responsible for pest control in construction sites where mosquito infestation was found.
The fines were issued as the companies were found violating public health and safety regulations.
On Sunday, Gulf News reported that residents in several communities were complaining about the presence of mosquitoes, claiming the problem has worsened over time. Residents of Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC), Dubai Investment Park (DIP), and the Green Community (GC), said that stagnant water seems to be the root cause of the problem. Developers of these communities had said they are working on resolving the problem.
Al Yehya said the pest control department has also increased monitoring at airports, land ports, seaports, horse stables and racetracks, public parks and natural reserves.
He said the municipality is using safe methods such as fish that eat mosquito larvae and environmentally friendly pesticides.
The Pest Control Department, Al Yehya said, is also responsible for handling reports of poisonous pests such as snakes, scorpions, spiders, bees and wasps, and they respond to these emergency reports within 24 hours.
Other non-emergency reports are addressed within four working days.
Dubai Municipality urges the public to call 800900 if they notice any pests that could be carrying diseases, such as rodents, mosquitoes and flies around their homes.
