Minister for taking anti-dengue measures

LAHORE:Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has alerted the Punjab government that dengue season has set in so anti-dengue activities should be started.

This was revealed by Minister EPD Rizwan in a press statement issued here on Thursday. He said he has already alerted Anti Dengue Squad of the department to control dengue as its season has come.

The minister said that the CM has also been taken into confidence in this regard. Before two months EPD participated in International Dengue Conference 2020 in which all the relevant departments discussed 10-year Anti-Dengue Strategy with the help of leading global experts to develop action plan to control dengue in the wake of a global pandemic that has hit countries from Far East Asia to South Asia.

The minister said dengue cases have seen a dramatic rise in many countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and others over the past three years. He said Punjab Environment Protection Department also set up a stall in the international conference, which had various pamphlets and banners for the prevention of environmental pollution, especially for the prevention of dengue.

The minister said that it was very important to stop the dengue larvae growing and people should take precautionary measures to keep the environment clean and dry. He appealed to the public that the doors and windows should be kept open during mosquito spray by cleaning houses, offices so that the effects can reach the house, dispose of old tires and used bags, old empty tires, properly dispose of used shopper bags, empty plastic bottles, etc., drain the water from fountains and swimming pools in homes. Public has to fully cooperate with the government, he said.

Call to register all workers for relief: The leaders of Pakistan Mazdoor Mahaz and Muttahida Labour Federation have said the government should ensure secure and transparent distribution of ration by relief agencies through support of security agencies.

Labour leaders Ishtiaq Chaudhry, M Yaqub, Shaukat Chaudhry, M Akbar, Altaf Baloch, Hanif Ramay and Fazle Wahid said the government should ensure secure and transparent distribution of ration by relief agencies through support of security agencies.

They asked the government to collect workers’ data and register them, and start planning for a mechanism to restart the economic activities as soon as medically possible.

They demanded the federal and provincial government register all workers with Social Security and Employees Old Age Benefit whether they were daily wagers, self-employed or permanent employees of enterprises. Similarly, workers in the construction sector should all be registered with the Labor Department besides the Social Security and EOBI.