Daijiworld Media Network - Mysuru (SP)

Mysuru, Oct 13: Popular belief is that criminals dread police personnel. Sight of Khaki uniform gives rise to fear in the minds of violators of law, however minor the violations may be. But police of this city now live under constant fear of pesky insects, mosquitoes, which have succeeded in giving rise to a sense of dread in the minds of the law enforcers.

The city appears to get gripped by swarms of mosquitoes since sometime before dusk everyday. The mosquitoes are so dogged and efficient in their job of stinging people that policemen are compelled to cover themselves against them. The menace has become so serious that police personnel dither from sitting inside their stations for fear of being stung time and again. These insects do not seem to get intimidated by the fact that this city is the home town of Karnataka chief minister, Siddaramaiah. With them, diseases like dengue, Chikungunya, and malaria have flourished here along with the number of mosquitoes.

For example, mosquitoes lay siege to Laxmipura, police station in the city every evening and stay put there till next morning. The staff of the station have been resorting to setting green leaves of neem on fire and see that the smoke coming out from the smouldering leaves reaches every corner of the station and stays there as long as possible, to handle the mosquito trouble. Shrubs and plants that have mushroomed around this police station have complicated matters.

The police have requested city corporation to clear the vegetation to get rid of mosquitoes but the corporation staff have not considered their request sympathetically so far. The police, who have been fed up of reminding the corporation staff, have found out a remedy by way of ensuring that the station stays enveloped in neem smoke.