Sudipto Mondal / The Hindu

• Garbage clearing vans visit Bengre waterfront only once a month

Mangalore, Oct 10: The waterfront at Bengre is scattered with fish that has been put out to dry. Yet, it is tough to find the millions of flies believed to accompany the fish drying activity.

Mohammed Rafique, a fisherman, confesses, “The flies that take over the city between October and December originate from here. But there is another side to the story.” He says: “fish is salted before they are put out to dry which acts as a fly repellent. When it rains, the fish begins to rot and that is the time when the flies set in. At that point, the fish is of no use to us. It becomes a menace for the entire city. But no part of the fish is wasted. Even the fish gut and other residual matter is used to produce manure and fodder”. The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) recently conducted a study on the fly menace in the city. Based on its findings, Giridhar Prabhu, former president of KCCI, seems to agree with Rafique: “This is not a case of a commercial activity contributing to civic menace. It is a case of inefficient civic management”.

Pointing out that only the end effect was being seen and not the cause, Prabhu says, “As soon as it rains, the rotting fish becomes garbage and clearing it is the job of the municipality”. The study carried out on the problem reveals that while the flies may be born on rotting fish, they regenerate in the untended dump-yards of the city.

Flies have one of the shortest life cycles known: a fleeting 20 to 30 days. If left unchecked, just a few flies kick off a chain of events that produce millions of descendants in a matter of weeks. A major breakout of flies can be averted by neutralising their breeding grounds (garbage) which means, clearing the garbage in one shot in a few hours.

The fisher folk that spoke to The Hindu in Bengre said that the garbage collection vehicle came to their area only once a month. Savithri, a fisherwoman says, “We try to keep the place as clean as possible, but you cannot expect us to clear the overflowing dump yards and bins. We use every part of the fish; and therefore the question of littering does not arise”. Basheer Ahmed says, “When the flies attack the fish, it is a loss for us too. I try to do my bit. I lay out a mixture of lime and DDT before I put out a mat and then I spread the fish on the mat to dry.” With only fisher folk being held responsible for the fly menace so far, the civic authorities and district administration have seldom been blamed. One senior official, reacted thus: “That is not our jurisdiction; it is the responsibility of the ports and Fisheries Department”. But on being forced to clarify whether or not it was the responsibility of the municipality to clear the garbage, he directed this correspondent to contact assistant health officer who could not be reached.