What tropical country can afford to be without its swarms of insects, which make up the famed biodiversity of these Southern nations?
That question would be applicable to the great natural areas of these countries, such as the deciduous and wet evergreen forests but not the maddening urban agglomeations that are called metros in India.
Today's The Hindu has a story on yet another planned onslaught on a rising fly population in the metropolis, which has about 7 million people living in the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA).
The reason for the swarms of house flies invading Chennai neighbourhoods can be found in the proliferating mounds of garbage that are left scattered on the road side. Even in places where privatised garbage collection is found, this is the state of affairs. There is lot of organic matter to which the city population adds its unending supply of spit and phlegm at every turn.
To me, the answer to reducing the fly population lies not in bombarding the streets with poisons that will be absorbed by humans, but by putting organic waste neatly into closed containers, where the flies cannot get at them. But there is no history of the middle class in this metro taking responsibility for its waste. So the flies will have the last laugh.
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