Daily Times

An anti-dengue drive initiated by the district administration is in full swing under which surveillance is being carried out at various points in the provincial capital.

Assistant Commissioner (AC) City Faizan Ahmed on Tuesday visited Union Council UC-78 and 94, where he inspected anti-dengue arrangements. He issued warning to three house owners over presence of dengue larva in their premises and instructed them about dengue preventions.

He observed the attendance and performance of the anti-dengue squad deputed on field duty in the area.

Assistant Commissioner Model Town Ibrahim Arbab visited Block-F Model Town and issued warnings to four house owners over dengue larva presence.

For making better arrangements to prevent dengue, it was necessary for the public to cooperate with the administration and field staff, he said and added that citizens should keep their houses clean and leave no place wet or with stagnant water. All the departments were working in a coordinated manner to make the anti-dengue campaign a success. He directed the dengue teams deputed in the area to gear up pace of anti-dengue spray process.

Assistant Commissioner Shalimar Tehniyat Bukhari inspected anti dengue arrangements at UC-18 and directed to speed up anti-dengue spraying process in the area. She also got registered First Information Report (FIR) against graveyard administration as they failed to maintain cleanliness in the graveyard.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Department revealed that dengue cases were massively increased in Lahore during the month of September.

The total number of dengue cases in the city reached to 2,000 in September, out of which Defence reported 946 cases.

The department revealed that over 17,000 dengue hotspots have been identified in the city and five areas, where dengue larvae were found, have been sealed.

It further revealed that notices have been issued to more than 45,000 people and eighty-two people have been arrested, besides registration of caaes against 1,400 people.

In Rawalpindi and Islamabad, 113 and 24 new dengue cases were reported respectively.

Earlier on October 1, the Pakistan Meteorological Department had warned of a dengue outbreak in eight big cities of the country from October 10 to November 20.

The eight big cities include Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, and Multan.

Moreover, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) District Health Authority said the present spell of rains had increased the threat of dengue larvae breeding which needed to be tackled on an emergency basis as the Met Office had forecast more rain in the week. Talking to APP, the CEO said that authority had devised an effective micro plan to control the spread of dengue keeping in view the year, 2019 statistics.

She informed that 3,613 cases had been tested positive in 2019, 12 in 2020 while only 313 confirmed cases had so far been surfaced in Rawalpindi since January of this year.