Hazaribag Municipal Corporation plans to deploy nine three-wheelers fitted with portable fogging machines across the city’s 36 wards, targeting narrow lanes and residential areas that larger fogging vehicles cannot reach. The proposed purchase is intended to improve mosquito-control coverage in a city of more than five lakh people.
Additional municipal commissioner Pradeep Kumar said the corporation would procure nine three-wheelers and an equal number of portable fogging machines. Each vehicle and machine would cover about four wards, allowing the proposed fleet to serve all 36 municipal wards.
The corporation currently has only three fogging machines, according to officials. This limited equipment has made it difficult to conduct regular fogging across all wards. Residents in several parts of the city have complained that fogging is inadequate and irregular.
The proposed three-wheelers are meant for narrow lanes and residential pockets where larger vehicles cannot operate. “Large fogging vehicles cannot enter several narrow lanes and residential pockets. To bridge this gap, the corporation plans to procure nine three-wheelers and an equal number of portable fogging machines,” Kumar said.
The move comes after a recent wet spell led to waterlogging in parts of the city. Open drains and garbage heaps at several locations have also created conditions favourable for mosquito breeding, officials said. The planned fleet is therefore aimed at addressing an access gap in the municipal body’s existing fogging operations rather than replacing its larger vehicles.
Large fogging vehicles will continue to operate on main roads and wider stretches, while the proposed three-wheelers will be used in areas that remain inaccessible to them. The arrangement will divide fogging operations between larger roads and the city’s narrower residential network.
The tender process for procuring the vehicles and portable machines is being prepared. The municipal corporation has not yet announced the procurement cost, the tender deadline or the date on which the new equipment will begin operations.
In a separate sanitation measure ahead of Durga Puja, the civic body has procured 500 bags of lime and 500 bags of bleaching powder for use in and around puja pandals. Three sanitation workers will be deployed in every ward to support regular cleaning during the festive season.
