Mumbai, Dec. 2 -- Malaria detection at the city's construction sites has more than doubled this year, according to data shared by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in response to an RTI filed by advocate Tushar Bhosale. The civic body recorded 38 positive malaria cases among construction workers during screening drives held in February-March, June-July 2025, compared to 17 cases in the same period last year. However, the rise in recorded cases has come with a sharp increase in testing. In February-March this year, the BMC screened 50,190 construction workers and detected seven cases, while in the same period in 2024 it screened 21,791 workers and found the same number of positive cases. The contrast was sharper in June-July, when 51,138 workers were screened and 31 tested positive, compared to 36,499 screenings and 10 positives in 2024. Among individual wards, A Ward, which covers Colaba, Fort and Marine Drive, reported the highest number of malaria cases this year with four positive cases among 738 workers screened. Several wards, including G South, S Ward and B Ward, reported zero cases despite large-scale screening. Bhosale said, "Construction sites are turning into hotspots of malaria. Mosquitoes are everywhere, and extra fogging needs to be done by both the BMC and the site owners." A senior BMC official said, "We are screening lakhs of workers, and many of them are already infected. Early detection allows us to cure carriers before the disease spreads." Citywide, Mumbai has already crossed 6,000 malaria cases in 2025. Civic officials attribute the surge to the early monsoon....