Punjab is set to deploy drones to spray larvicide in areas inaccessible to conventional manual spraying as part of an emergency drive to tackle mosquito breeding.The Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kiran Corporation/SPV, Mumbai, to launch a 60-day drone-operated larvicide spray operation in identified dengue hotspots in Patiala district.The MoU was signed in the presence of Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh by Director Health and Family Welfare Dr Hitinder Kaur on behalf of the department and Sachin Shetty on behalf of Kiran Corporation.Speaking on the occasion, Dr Balbir Singh said, “Instead of merely reacting to dengue cases, our prime focus is on actively hunting down and destroying dengue larvae. Many large stagnant water bodies, rooftop accumulation points, abandoned plots, and congested localities remain inaccessible for conventional manual spraying. Drones will now act as our aerial eyes and sprayers to neutralise high mosquito breeding grounds with precision.”He said the state’s ‘Har Shukarvar Dengue Te Vaar’ mass awareness campaign had yielded significant results.He credited the weekly source-reduction campaign, active door-to-door larvae surveillance and community mobilisation for substantially reducing dengue cases across Punjab and bringing dengue-related deaths down to zero this year.Under the 60-Day Emergency Vector Control Cycle (Phase-I), drones will be deployed in identified dengue hotspots and high mosquito-breeding pockets in Patiala district, which recorded a high disease burden in 2025.The operation will include aerial spraying of government-approved larvicides/insecticides, daily field reporting and outcome monitoring through scientific surveys of larval and adult mosquito density.The Health Department will facilitate hotspot identification, requisite clearances, local coordination and technical supervision.The minister underlined that the entire initiative was being executed on a non-financial basis, with no financial transactions involving the state exchequer.A comprehensive joint review will be undertaken within 10 days of the project’s completion to assess the reduction in larval density and plan a phase-wise scale-up across other districts.