Worm attack: Kochi shoppers feel the itch

KOCHI: Cutomers at a private shopping mall on MG Road had a bitter experience when scores of worms that cause itching took them by surprise.The army of worms inching towards the mall was a disgusting sight. The insects were also found in nearby building.According to Antony, the caretaker of the building, the number of worms was worrying. The heavy rain did kill a few. According to him, the origin of the problem is a vacant 15-cent plot nearby.Though he has been at the building for the last four years, this is for the first time that he is seeing them. A portion of the land is owned by the Corporation and the rest is  with a private party.The vacant space is full of wild plants and trees and is an ideal breeding ground for insects and reptiles. Antony said that though a complaint was lodged with the Kochi Corporation health office at Ernakulam North, it took them about four days to act. Though the health official had promised to visit the place, nobody had turned out, he said.According to the Health Officer Dr Manjusha Varghese the Corporation is getting similar complaints from different places. The Corporation is verifying the merits of the complaints.The operations, rather late, by the Corporation health department finally helped rid of the them.She also said that steps would be taken to clear the shrubs and creepers from the vacant place near the mall.