Rourkela: Though he is a trader by profession, Amitabh Ghosh (45) had waged a war against malaria four years ago in the city, especially in slum areas.
Addressed as David by his friends, Ghosh is more popular as a ‘mosquito killer’ among slum dwellers. Spraying insecticides in waterlogged pockets of the slums is part of his daily schedule, the trader said.
David owns a sports store at Ispat Central Market of Sector-19. He opens the shop at 9 am and downs the shutter at 1 pm for lunch break. He returns to the shop at 6 pm and stays up till 10 pm. Despite his compulsion to run the store for a living, David manages to devote time to fight a war against vector borne diseases.
He leaves home at 7 am with a barrel of malathion (insecticide) on his back and visits every nook and corner of slums. Slum people get overjoyed with his arrival and show him the places which need his attention.
David, without inhibition, enters the drains and keeps spraying mosquito-killing oil wearing a mask. He regularly keeps track of the growing mosquito population in all slums of the city. Besides, he advises people to keep the garbage at one place and bury it later.
His operation is not restricted to the slums only. He is also equally popular in posh locations like Shakti Nagar and Jagada for his unique drive against mosquito menace.
According to sources, he picks up 20 houses every day and sprays mosquito repellants around them.
Apart from his battle against vector-borne diseases, he helps people get basic health services, repairs defunct water taps, and creates awareness against wastage of water.
“I also offer sports material free of cost to children to inculcate a spirit of sports in them,” David says.
When asked about his unusual leisure pursuit, David said visiting slums and observing the lifestyles of slum dwellers was part of his daily routine in the past. Often, malaria patients used to seek financial help from him which he failed many a time. Not being able to help the needy due to his own constraints had made him take up a fight against malaria as a mission. He spent about Rs6,000 to buy the mosquito-killing machine along with the pesticide and started spraying it in slums so that no one suffers from the disease.
“Neither my wife nor my son ever objected to this practice. I feel a sense of satisfaction after seeing smiles in the lips of slum dwellers who are vulnerable to deadly diseases,” David said.
He admitted that spending about Rs5,000 a month on this makes things a little difficult to run the family. “I pray god to help me carry on my campaign in the slums till my last breath,” David said. PNN
