Dengue screening services in government schools demanded

PESHAWAR: The residents and elected representatives of Tehkal locality in the provincial capital expressed concern over measures taken by the government for handling the dengue epidemic and demanded screening services in public sector schools so that the patients didn’t need visiting hospitals.

Also, dengue virus infected 301 more people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The residents of Tehkal, where the dengue virus first surfaced and infected people in July this year, gathered at a local mosque and complained of ‘insufficient’ measures taken by the government for the patients suffering from dengue.

Local politicians mostly belonging to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl were conspicuous by their presence at the meeting. They blamed the provincial government for its poor strategy for dealing with the dengue outbreak and complained that the government had failed to play its role in providing better healthcare to the people.

JUI-F’s Maulana Amanullah Haqqani, former MPA Ateefur Rahman and other JUI-F activists attended the meeting.Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA Hamidul Haq also joined the meeting and urged the participants to play a positive role in curbing dengue instead of indulging in point-scoring.

It may be added that the wife and brother of Hamidul Haq were also infected by the dengue virus and they are presently under treatment at the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH).The PTI MNA assured the jirga members that he would not spare his own government if he found any negligence on its part.

He said it was time for all of them to create awareness among the residents of the affected areas, saying people still had open water tanks in their houses and air-coolers where dengue larvae bred and infected more people.

The jirga members wanted the government to arrange screening services in the public sector schools in the dengue-hit areas such as Tehkal and Pishtakhara union councils so that people didn’t need visiting hospitals.

They said since KTH was situated near Tehkal and Pishtakhara, therefore, majority of dengue patients were taken there.Hamidul Haq praised the doctors and other staff members of KTH for providing better services to the dengue patients.

He said since KTH has been under heavy burden of dengue patients, it affected patients suffering from other diseases and therefore they wanted the patients to be screened in schools instead of hospitals.

“If people are diagnosed with dengue and needed hospitalisation then the doctor will refer them to hospital from labs in the schools. It will reduce burden on our hospitals, particularly KTH, Hayatabad Medical Complex and Lady Reading Hospital,” said the PTI MNA.

Also, the jirga demanded the government to raise the compensation amount from Rs500,000 to Rs1 million for the family of each person who died of dengue.The jirga members said three local residents had died of dengue last year and the government should compensate their families.

They also complained about the poor quality of larvicide sprays conducted in the affected areas and the mosquito repellents distributed among the residents.At the end, prayer leaders and religious scholars were urged to talk about dengue prevention measures in the Friday sermons and speeches at funerals and other occasions to create awareness among the people.