Jind, August 18
Swarms of mosquitoes have virtually forced the residents and their milch animals to take drastic measures to protect themselves, as the mosquito menace here has reaches epidemic proportions.

The entire rustic scenery is dotted with bright pink, blue and yellow nets, which protect the most prized possessions of the villagers— their high yielding cattle— from the mosquitoes. Villagers say that the mosquitoes disturb the animals, thus causing their milk yield to decline.

Even as residents themselves, brave the malaria fever, their main concern is to protect their animals. They allege that the health department or the local administration has refused to act, even though the mosquito concentration has increased drastically in the past fortnight.

Devinder Kumar, a resident of Naguran village, says that there has been no fogging, nor has any health official/animal husbandry official come forward to offer help against the mosquito menace. “To add to our woes, there is no electricity for 48 hours at a stretch. The electric fans can keep mosquitoes away, but with power disruptions being the norm, we are forced to use these nets,” he says.

Sudesh Rani of village Churpur says that though mosquito menace in this village occurs in each monsoon season, this time the problem is grave. “The wild growth in the open drains has not been cleared. Water logging in the wastelands, and along the newly raised roads have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes”.

But this adversity for some, is an advantage for others. Almost all cloth merchants in this belt have stocked hundreds of yards of net. As Sham Lal Gupta of Todi Kheri village points out,” The business is brisk, with everyone demanding yards of nets for their animals. During the past one month, I have sold nets worth over Rs 1 lakh”.

The malaria outbreak in this belt has resulted in over 11,000 cases of malaria during the monsoon season. Dr Veena Chugh, Director Malaria, Health Department, Haryana, says that two third of these cases have been reported from Panipat, Sonepat and Karnal. Since Safidon in Jind shares a common boundary with Panipat, Karnal and Sonepat, villages in the Safidon block, too, are affected by the malaria outbreak. She says that chloroquin tablets are being distributed and surveillance has been stepped up following the malaria outbreak in these districts.