Kolkata: CISF personnel at city airport take ‘guard’ against mosquito menace

KOLKATA: The CISF personnel deployed at the city airport are now armed with a new gadget to take on a deadly threat they face every day — mosquitoes. The airport authorities have acquired around 200 rechargeable electric mosquito swatters for its personnel who are posted outside the terminal building.

In a city that sees hundreds of dengue and malaria cases every year, the mosquito-killing rackets have come as godsend for those who guard the remote corners of the airport perimeter and other mosquito-infested spots such as bunkers and watch towers.

“The mosquitoes are the biggest menace here. They are especially troublesome in the evenings and with them buzzing around and biting it is difficult to concentrate on our work,” said a CISF personnel posted at a bunker outside the airport terminal.

These plastic rackets— with a metal mesh delivering a small electric charge that instantly kills mosquitoes—are in addition to repellents like sprays, roll-ons, creams and coils that the CISF men already use. “Repellents ward them off for sometime but then they get immune. So these racquets are more effective and come in handy for us,” adds the CISF man.

Out of the over 1,200 CISF guards deployed at the airport, accounting for leaves, around 280-300 personnel are posted per each shift on any given day. “Among them, 180 are deployed inside the terminal which is the most comfortable area. But the 100-odd personnel who are posted outside the terminal are the ones bearing the brunt of the mosquito menace and need the racquets the most. We have provided two to three racquets for each of the bunkers,” a CISF official said.



‘Pest control unit disinfects hotspots’

The personnel most prone to mosquito attacks are those posted around the boundary walls, on watchtowers, underground parking lots and bunkers outside the terminal towards the approach road to the city. “Apart from arming them with the swatters, the AAI’s pest control unit regularly disinfects the spots where our personnel are posted,” said an airport official.

Available in the market for just around Rs 100, this common household tool to ward off mosquitoes has come as a big relief for the CISF personnel guarding the airport.

“At times our personnel suffer from fever possibly triggered by mosquito bites but luckily none of our staff have suffered from dengue in the last three years. But then again, we cannot take a chance. We regularly advise them to use repellents and the swatters to keep the mosquitoes at bay,” said a CRPF official.

Earlier this month, low-cost carrier IndiGo had announced that all their flights will have mosquito swatters on its planes to control the growing menace of mosquitoes on board. Each plane is to have two swatters, which the cabin crew will use under a defined process.