From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Malaria has turned out to be the most dreaded disease in North East India, claiming several lives over the past few years.
But ironically, mosquito nets, a very simple and basic protection for this feared disease will now be supplied from the flourishing market in next door China. Incidentally, the estimated Rs 350 crore net market was hitherto controlled not by the home country but another close neighbour Bangladesh.
The dense forest region with high rainfall has a potential of Rs 350 Crore per annum market of looming polymer based mosquito net or producing its raw material monofilament out of downstream items from major Petrochem units.
But, absence of local entrepreneurs in the sector has always left the potential to be enjoyed by traders from Bangladesh and now China.
Despite all efforts, malaria propensity is increasing in the region every year with higher percentage of malignancy following entry of new variants of the pathogen into the picture. Against Eastern Region’s annual consumption of near 10,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) of mono filament, local production lies even below 400 MT.
So India used to trade Bangladesh filaments and loomed net both here at high scale to meet the demand versus local production gap. Apart from filament, there is severe shortage of looming units too in eastern India.
With a major bend in the trend, now Chinese filament and nets are replacing products from Bangladesh. Though it may not be as durable as Bangladeshi or Indian products, Chinese filaments or loomed nets give at least 50% higher profit margin and there is no fear of trade unionism affecting production.
In recently times there has been a substantial increase in the overall malaria incidence and incidence of Plasmodium falciparum in the north-eastern region of India. The main contributory factors for this are the inherent ones- difficult terrain, presence of optimum climatic conditions for prolonged transmission and presence of highly efficient malaria vectors.
But recent studies have shown that lately the developmental projects attracting aggregation of labour and influx of population along the International borders have also added to the problem.
To combat this situation, approaches like providing full Central assistance, intensifying training of personnel and DDT spray, opening Drug Distribution Centres and Fever Treatment Depots and making drugs available in the villages have been put into action.