By Omer Farooq BBC correspondent in Hyderabad

Mosquito menace: Who's to blame?

K Srihari Rao says too little has been done to protect him from mosquitoes - and if the council doesn't pay up he's itching to sue.

"Me and my family are suffering a lot because of the mosquitoes. We cannot sleep at night and we have had to undergo anti-malarial treatment," he says.

Mr Rao is testing a recent ruling by the High Court in Delhi, which said eradicating mosquitoes was the duty of civic bodies.

'Impossible to prove'

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kovvur town council in West Godavari district - an area plagued by mosquitoes - is unimpressed by Mr Rao's gripe.

"How could he prove that he has suffered some sort of special damage which other people have not? You cannot hold the civic body responsible if a mosquito bites you or a bee hovers over your head," council lawyer A Sai Baba told BBC News Online.

We clean the drains at least once in a week to ensure the mosquitoes do not breed A Ramakrishna, Kovvur commissioner

He rejected Mr Rao's demands for 15,000 rupees (about $300) - equivalent to several times the local average monthly wage.

"If we pay him compensation, we will have to create a special fund because everybody will come rushing to demand compensation."

According to Mr Baba, the case that went before the Delhi High Court was different and did not, therefore, set a precedent.

The civic body in that case, he said, had complained that it lacked funds to control mosquitoes. No such situation existed in Kovvur.

"The municipality is doing everything," he said.

A Ramakrishna, commissioner of Kovvur municipality, agreed.

"We do not have any such problem of lack of action or lack of funds. We are undertaking frequent fogging and cleaning operations, and sprinkling anti-mosquito oil in the drains," he said.

The municipality had also left a species of fish in the drains which eats the larvae of mosquitoes.

Mr Ramakrishna said people threw waste down the open drains, leading to stagnant water - ideal mosquito-breeding conditions.

"That is why we clean the drains at least once in a week to ensure that the mosquitoes do not breed."

Counter suit

Mosquitoes are rampant in Kovvur, especially at the end of the sugarcane season in winter.

In summer, the mosquito menace drops drastically, officials say.

He is trying to get illegal fame and money. If he continues like this, we will take him to court Council lawyer A Sai Baba

According to Mr Baba, councils and citizens have an equal duty to wipe out mosquitoes, whatever time of year.

If a mosquito bites someone at home - that's their look-out, he says.

It seems to be the council's suggestion that his tormentors are a "domestic" problem that stung Mr Rao into action.

Well-known locally as an anti-pollution activist and a veteran of numerous battles with local industry and government, he says he will go all the way to court.

But Mr Baba says all he is after is "illegal fame and money".

"If he continues like this, we will take him to court and demand compensation for defaming the civic body and not letting us serve the people properly. His going to court on this issue would clearly be an abuse of the process of law."

Locals are simply bemused by the row because mosquitoes are such a common problem, not only in Kovvur but throughout the state.