Delhi: EDMC carries out anti-mosquito pilot drive using drone

Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal said a 12-litre container of larvicide was attached to the drone and a 3km area was covered by the flying device

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) started using drone on Wednesday for spraying larvicide in places that are inaccessible to municipal workers. The pilot exercise was carried out on the banks of Yamuna, near the Yamuna Bank Metro station.

The pilot exercise was carried out on the banks of Yamuna, near the Yamuna Bank Metro station. (Sourced)

Mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal said a 12 litre container of larvicide was attached to the drone and a 3km area was covered by the flying device.

Beer Singh Panwar, chairman of the standing committee, said on Wednesday, the EDMC hired only a single drone for the exercise and more will be hired for the anti-dengue programme in the coming days.

A senior municipal official from the public health department said the drone will be used to spray larvicides and anti-mosquito drugs on rooftops and water tanks in vulnerable areas where domestic breeding checkers of the corporation are unable to reach. The civic bodies had also used drones during the disinfection drives last year to control the spread of Covid-19. The drones had sprayed sodium hypochlorite solution in areas that municipal workers could not reach. However, the efficacy of using drones for covering a large surface area was widely questioned at that time.