Over 2,600 chikungunya cases have been recorded marking a massive rise of nearly 150% in Delhi.
To curb mosquito breeding, a special train called 'Mosquito Terminator' will be pressed into service from September 23 to spray insecticides along the railway tracks in Delhi area.
The Delhi Division of Northern Railway along with South Delhi Municipal Corporation will put the 'Mosquito Terminator' into action to check mosquito breeding in the water bodies along railway tracks.
A power sprayer truck mounted on the wagon will spray insecticides to sanitise the water bodies. There will be four rounds of spraying at two weeks interval between each round and the mosquito terminator train will cover 150 km in two days in the peak mosquito season, a statement said.
The mosquito terminator will pass through Delhi Serai Rohilla, Patel Nagar, Delhi Cantt, Palam, Safdarjung, Kishanganj, Lajpat Nagar, Nizamuddin, Adarsh Nagar, Rathdhana, Shahdara and Gurgaon.
The water bodies formed on the land adjacent to the tracks, which is otherwise inaccessible, act as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The insecticide sprayed over the water bodies would check the threat in the most effective manner. So far, it was not possible to cover large areas in a short span of time.
The sprayers have capacity to sanitise a distance of 50-60 meters from the tracks.