THE Punjab government is showing double standards in dealing with the dengue issue as it is only tightening the noose around the private hospitals but showing visible lenience to the government sector hospitals.

Private sector hospitals are the only target of the Punjab government as their administration is being arrested and FIRs registered against them for the presence of dengue larvae in the premises of their hospitals.

A few days back, Lahore DCO Noor ul Ameen Mengal along with the anti-dengue squads inspected the renowned private hospital in Johar Town area. After he found dengue larvae in the hospital’s premises, an FIR was registered against the hospital director administration.

On Wednesday, the anti-dengue squad Environment Protection Department, Punjab along with Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique, MPA Khawaja Imran Nazir and MPA Ch Shahbaz inspected the Mayo Hospital where they found dengue larvae at main canteen and two other places of the hospital. It is pertinent to mention that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had issued clear instructions that if the dengue larvae were found at any place the head of that department or institution would be responsible for it and strict action would be taken against him.

In view of the CM’s instructions, FIRs should be registered against the MS of Mayo Hospital but Khawaja Salman Rafique and other officials decided only to issue a warning notice to the hospital management.

Talking to The News, Khawaja Salman Rafique admitted the fact that dengue larvae could not be present in the Mayo hospital where a large number of dengue patients were already admitted. The presence of dengue larvae in Mayo hospital premises was a big question mark on the authorities concerned but the FIR was not the right solution, Khawaja Salman Rafique added. He said the Mayo hospital was the place which had played its role in every emergency and disaster stage in the city and having FIR registered against MS Mayo hospital was not suitable.

He said that warning notice had been issued to the hospital’s management and, next time, not even a government hospital would be tolerated and FIR would be launched against the administration.