It wont be long before the dry spell is over and the rains come down on Guwahati. And once this happens, the city will once again come in the grasp of the ever increasing mosquitoes with the fear of a rehash of last year’s Dengue outbreak. If last year’s case is remembered, than several people became victims of Dengue in the city and many of them lost their lives too. This year too the fear for a rehash of the Dengue outbreak looms large as no steps have been taken by the authorities to prevent this malady. Activities like the cleaning of drains, cleaning of garbage dumps and the spraying and fogging of insecticides to control the growth of mosquitoes has been completely ignored. It is to be noted here that the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) had given a proposal of Rs 2.18 crores to tackle the mosquito menace in the city on a firmer level. However nobody has ever heard of a positive attitude by the state government in this regard, and the money was never released. Due to this, the GMC has not been able to take up its proposed plans to tackle the Dengue menace in the city. As per records, the GMC has identified 22 regions within Guwahati as Dengue hotspots. Out of these, five spots have been declared by them as ultra sensitive and are breeding grounds for large number of mosquitoes. These are Zoo Road, Bamunimoidam, Chandmari, Noonmati, Bhaskarnagar, Hatigarh and Bhangagarh. Again, it has to be noticed that the GMC has no permanent staff for the fogging and spraying of insecticides in the city. These works are mostly done by hired labourers who are not always available for duty. It has also been found out that the GMC has only 37 spraying machines in their position. These facts raise the concerns in the city’s fight to contain the spread of mosquitoes that lead to diseases like Dengue and Malaria. This year, though the dry spell has indirectly helped in the containing of the mosquito numbers, the onset of the monsoons would once again bring back the bulk of mosquitoes into action. But, unfortunately, going by the sick attitude of the state government and the helplessness of the GMC, the common people might have to gear up for some Dengue menace this year