‘Movitrap’: BMC Unveils New Device to Curb Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya in Mumbai

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has launched ‘Movitrap’, an innovative mosquito-control device developed under its incubation initiative to combat vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue, officials told the news agency PTI.

Developed by a startup under the SMILE Council, the electricity-free device targets mosquito breeding at the source by using a mild insecticide to destroy eggs, effectively interrupting the reproduction cycle, the civic body stated in a release.

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At the launch of the product earlier this week, additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) Avinash Dhakne lauded the work being carried out by the civic body's Society for Mumbai Incubation Lab to Entrepreneurship (SMILE) Council in supporting startups in the city.

According to the release, 'Movitrap' is designed to prevent mosquito breeding at the source by attracting female mosquitoes to lay eggs in treated water, where the eggs are destroyed using a mild insecticide. The product is intended primarily for household use and can remain effective for up to four weeks without requiring electricity, it said. It uses an attractant to lure mosquitoes and an insect growth regulator (IGR) to eliminate eggs, thereby interrupting the breeding cycle, the release stated.

The device will help control vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya and Zika by targeting mosquito reproduction rather than merely repelling them.

Padma Shri awardee scientist Professor A P Dash, Vice-Chancellor of Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Manohar Chaskar, and other experts and civic officials were present at the product launch earlier this week.