The next meeting of the health standing committee of the Kochi Corporation is likely to deliberate on the deployment of drones for spraying insecticides to curb mosquito proliferation, with two proposals currently under consideration. The recommendation will then be forwarded to the council for its approval.

Priced at ₹4 lakh

A start-up has submitted a proposal for the outright purchase of a drone, along with its operation and maintenance, to tackle one of the Corporation’s most pressing problems. The drone, priced at around ₹4 lakh, comes with a payload capacity of 10 litres and can spray insecticide over a couple of acres of vacant land in about 30 minutes. However, it will not be deployed in densely populated areas.

Another company has proposed operating drones on behalf of the Corporation to spray an organic compound at mosquito-breeding grounds identified through GIS mapping. With varying payload capacities, the firm plans to charge the Corporation on an hourly basis. Spraying is reportedly most effective during early mornings and late evenings, hours when Corporation staff may not be available, making drone deployment a viable alternative.

Training for Corporation staff

“The start-up selling the drone has also offered to train Corporation staff to operate it. But the staff will need to secure licences for drone operation. Moreover, deployment poses challenges since the Corporation’s jurisdiction includes naval and port installations, where flying drones is prohibited,” said Henry Austin, a member of the health standing committee.

Despite these hurdles, drones promise operational efficiency by covering large areas in limited time, a feat difficult to achieve manually. They also enable precision spraying, including over expansive waterbodies such as the Thevara-Perandoor Canal, choked with water hyacinth, ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Reportedly, the spraying mechanism works in a conical pattern, ensuring wide coverage.

Environmental impct

Opposition Left Democratic Front parliamentary party leader V.A. Sreejith has raised concerns over the environmental impact of aerial spraying. Corporation officials, however, clarified that only insecticides sanctioned by vector-control experts and deemed harmless to humans will be used. Mr. Sreejith also criticised the move to share the proposal with the media before it was discussed in the health standing committee, of which he is a member. The United Democratic Front (UDF)-led governing committee countered it saying that the proposal had already been included in the Corporation Budget.