Indian Railways Flags Off Mosquito Terminator Train From New Delhi

The Northern Railway and Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Friday jointly flagged off a Mosquito Terminator Train to spray anti-larvae chemicals on both sides of rail tracks in order to prevent the growth of mosquito larvae and mitigate the threat of vector-borne diseases. The special train was delayed by a month. It will spray insecticides along railway tracks covering the entire NCR area.

In a video posted by the Delhi Division of Northern Railway on Twitter, a power sprayer, provided by MCD, can be seen mounted on a truck, which is placed over the train. This spray will cover an area falling within the range of 50 to 60 meters on both sides of the railway tracks.

The Mosquito Terminator Train will move at a speed of 20 kilometres (km) per hour. On each trip, it is set to cover a distance of 75 kilometres.

Top showsha video

Civic officials informed that the train would spray insecticides for six weeks until October 22, including 12 round trips. A detailed schedule of locations to be covered has also been released. As per the schedule, insecticides will be sprayed twice a week during the mosquito breeding season.

To accommodate the power sprayer-mounted truck, the officials decided to load it on an open railway wagon, which has a low flat surface.

Till August 27, Delhi recorded 205 dengue cases. Meanwhile, 40 and 13 cases of malaria and chikungunya, respectively, have also been reported. So far, no death due to these vector-borne diseases has been reported.

According to the official data, last year, Delhi recorded 9,613 dengue cases, the highest since 2015, along with 23 deaths – the maximum since 2016.

In 2016, a total of 4,431 dengue cases were recorded in the national capital, followed by 4,726 in 2017, 2,798 in 2018, 2,036 in 2019 and 1,072 in 2020.

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