BERHAMPUR: At a time when the state is grappling with dengue, students of MM High School, Girishola here have prepared a project to fight the disease.
The project has suggested plantation of marigold, lemon grass and podina (meant) sapling on open spaces of the villages and houses to drive away the mosquito species like aedes and anopheles responsible for diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya.
The project ‘Killer dengue in Girishola – a case study, remedy and solution’ has been prepared by five students of Class VIII with active guidance of the science teacher Raghunath Ghadei. It has been selected for National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) to be held at Vidya Pratishthan’s Institute of Information Technology (VIIT), Baramati, in Maharashtra from December 27 to 31.
The project also suggested development of culture centres of dragonfly and Gambusia fish to prevent increase of mosquito population. “While we have experimented by planting the marigold herbs on the premises of our school, we came to know from the elder persons about the role of dragonfly to kill the small mosquitoes during the preparation of the project,” said P Veketesh, a student involved in the project.
The fragrance of the herbs of marigold, lemon grass and meant can prevent entry of mosquitoes to a particular area, said the guide of the project. Other students, who participated in the preparation of the project, are Rahul Moharana, Balaram Sahu, Asish Moharana and Shankar Pradhan while science supervisor Gopal Krushna Panda was actively involved in the experiments.
While a single dragonfly can eat over 30 mosquitoes a day, its larva also gulps the larva of mosquito, said Ghadei. Similarly the Gambusia fish also eats the larva of mosquito. The students of the high school mooted the project after 200 people were affected by dengue killing six persons in Girishola in July and August.
The team members toured the village and interacted with several victims to know their garbage disposal method. The village along Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border has no space for garbage disposal as the NH-16 passes in one side while railway track is on the other side. In other two sides, there are state highways. The school students along with villagers took 15 days to clean the garbage.
