The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) is set to launch a campaign titled "Saturday Pledge, Let's Clean Our Homes" starting this Saturday to control the growing mosquito population and prevent dengue ahead of the upcoming monsoon season.
The initiative will be conducted jointly by the DNCC Health Department and the Waste Management Department. Entomologists and senior mosquito control officials of DNCC will also participate in the programme.
53 campaigns titled ‘Saturday Pledge, Let's Clean Our Homes’ will be conducted
Under the campaign, various activities will be carried out to eliminate potential breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes. These include removing abandoned and unused containers where water can accumulate, cleaning garbage and waste around residential areas, organizing rallies, distributing leaflets, and conducting awareness and public communication programmes.
DNCC Administrator Mohammad Shafiqul Islam Khan said the initiative follows instructions from Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to carry out special mosquito control drives every Saturday.
"Following this directive, DNCC has launched the campaign to encourage residents to keep their homes and surroundings clean and actively destroy possible breeding sites of Aedes mosquitoes to prevent dengue," he said.
According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 25 wards under DNCC have been identified as the most at risk based on the Aedes mosquito index.
In these 25 high-risk wards, a total of 53 campaigns titled "Saturday Pledge, Let's Clean Our Homes" will be conducted every Saturday from March to May 2026 between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm.
Health officials say that with the arrival of the monsoon season, the incidence of dengue-transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes-usually increases in Dhaka and across the country. The Aedes mosquito typically breeds in clean, stagnant water found in unused containers in and around homes.
Accumulated garbage and water in discarded containers around houses, offices, workplaces, business establishments and places of worship are considered major sources of Aedes mosquito breeding.
To address this risk, DNCC has decided to begin early operations this year to destroy such breeding sites and raise public awareness before the peak dengue season begins. Authorities hope that regular community participation and improved sanitation efforts will help reduce mosquito breeding and limit the spread of dengue in the capital.
