Remember Larson Fernandes? On September 22, 2015, dna had introduced the good samaritan from Juhu Koliwada, who took it upon himself to fight dengue mosquitoes in his locality by buying a hand-held fogging machine and fogging the area every evening.

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On Friday, Larson lost his only child – Brenden Fernandes – to the very mosquito he was fighting.

While Larson's fight was to make his locality safe, it was the careless, inhuman attitude of the residents in the very locality that nipped young Brenden's life. Larson was running his own NGO JuhuAngels.

Dengue cases in Juhu Koliwada have been on the rise for some time now. Recently, pest control officers from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) visited the area to find out the reason.

Officials had to face stiff resistance from a few aggressive residents, claiming to be Congress workers. What they later found out was shocking.

"Most houses had money plants and bamboo plants in water. Roofs of most houses had plastics for protection from rain water – just want the dengue mosquitoes would love," said Sandeep Tandel, pest control officer, K- west ward.

Tandel said that people were aggressive and did not like breeding spots being spotted by his team. "We identified five breeding spots and served notices on the owners of those houses. The notices, if not heeded, will invite stricter action, including heavy penalty, as they are risking other people's lives," said a civic official.

"We had a tough time explaining to them that the exercise was not to enter their homes and disturb their privacy but to check and explain the hazards of breeding spots they would unknowingly have in their house," officials said.Brenden, a Class X student of St Joseph High School, Juhu, contracted fever on Monday. On Tuesday, blood tests revealed that his platelet counts were going down - a significant symptom of dengue.

Within three days, the count went below 24,000. The depleted platelet counts led to multiple organ failure and young Brenden succumbed in the ICU of the Asha Parekh hospital in Santa Cruz (West).

Those families who have dengue patients at homes are upset with their neighbours' attitude. "We have lost a precious life. What did they achieve by having those fancy Feng Shui plants and not cleaning puddles under plastic drums? All are educated here, still they don't co-operate with BMC," a resident said.

K – West ward has resolved to visit Koliwada gaothan again and intensify their action. "Those found guilty will be prosecuted," said an official.

The BMC might live up to its words. For the Fernandes' though, that's too little, too late.