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Thursday March 28, 2024

Dengue mosquitoes spotted in City panic citizens

LAHOREDengue mosquitoes spotted in various localities of the provincial capital are causing panic and fear among the citizens besides exposing tall claims of the district administration and different government departments for effective measures to stop dengue. Alarm bells are ringing already yet the authorities seem to have turned a

By Ali Raza
October 29, 2015
LAHORE
Dengue mosquitoes spotted in various localities of the provincial capital are causing panic and fear among the citizens besides exposing tall claims of the district administration and different government departments for effective measures to stop dengue.
Alarm bells are ringing already yet the authorities seem to have turned a deaf ear. Sources in the District Government Lahore (CDGL) claimed that anti-dengue activities had slowed down due to shortage of staff as most of the district administration was engaged in the by-elections in NA-122 and PP-147 during the past two months. Sources further claimed that it is pertinent to mention here that dengue mosquitoes were also spotted from several union councils of these two constituencies.
It seems that besides district administration, Environment Protection Department (EPD) which is responsible to eliminate dengue larva from junkyards, nurseries, workshops and related places has also failed in doing its job because dengue is also spotted in residential localities near Bund Road, which is the home of junkyards and scrap yards.
Sources said the team of EPD, which is responsible for checking dengue, was busy in performing duty in the cities of Rawalpindi and Multan where dengue epidemic has broken for the last two months. Sources said in the absence of the senior EPD officials, lower staff and field teams failed in carrying out effective anti-dengue larva campaigns.
Mustafa, a resident of Johar Town, said that he himself seen dengue mosquitoes in his area during the last two days and he had lodged a complaint with the EPD officials but no one responded. He said there are a lot of empty plots and places in Johar Town where rainwater is stagnant and are turned into the breeding grounds of dengue mosquitoes.
Rabia, a housewife and resident of Sabzazar, claimed that she had also seen dengue mosquitoes in her house and was very worried. She said most of her neighbour women had also seen dengue in their homes. She said stagnant rainwater is present in their area, which was not cleared. She said she managed to get the number of district health department and informed the officials about the situation but got a very cold response.
Meanwhile, CDGL officials said that a meeting of Town Emergency Response Committee for Dengue took place on Wednesday. The meeting admitted that dengue larva is being spotted in the city and declared that officers and officials of Health Department deputed on Dengue duty should pay special attention to high-risk union councils where dengue larva is being found besides keeping close lesion with the departments concerned.
Deputy Director Schools, Rana Abdul Qayum, presided over the meeting while Town Municipal Officer Malik Imtiaz Awan and officers of other departments attended it. On this occasion DDO, Health, presented a report regarding the performance of the staff in this regard. According to a report, 13,627 indoor and 7,249 outdoor points have been checked in three days. The report further highlighted that during the joint operation with TMA staff 46 graveyards, 123 junkyards and 99 tyre shops have been checked as a result of which dengue larva has been found on 47 indoor and 3 outdoor points.
The Health DDO stated that Indoor Residual Spray (IRS) has also been carried out on 559 spots in various union councils. Moreover, two FIRs have also been registered on the violation of dengue regulations.
When contacted, Lahore DCO said dengue is under control in the city and extensive surveillance is being carried out. “I can offer you to attend our daily meeting to find out what is happening,” the DCO said, adding: “We have spotted dengue at the rate of hundreds in the entire year”.
Over a question why fumigation or spray on streets and related areas was carried out, the DCO said that fumigation is only done during an epidemic and otherwise it is not recommended. “This year we have controlled dengue in Lahore without much use of chemicals,” the DCO maintained.
The DCO added that there are a lot of stakeholders in the entire surveillance activity such as government departments, government hospitals, private hospitals, private clinics, industrialists and common people. We have our challenges but figures will prove that this has been the best year for Lahore due to extensive surveillance carried out in time, the DCO said.