UPPER DIR: The non-governmental organisations working in Upper Dir were on Tuesday asked to share details of their work and scope with the district administration.

Dr Mohammad Imran Hameed Sheikh, the deputy commissioner, told a meeting of the representatives of the NGOs at a meeting here that the administration wanted to see how the NGOs were operating in the district.

“We want to know how many NGOs are working here and in which areas they are operating and what projects they are working on,” he told the participants. He said the step was aimed at reviewing the progress of the NGOs and helping them to resolve their problems.

Mr Sheikh said that they would hold monthly meetings with representatives of NGOs to take stock of their activities.

The NGOs were also asked to share their performance reports with the district officer of social welfare department within two weeks.

Representatives of Sarhad Rural Support Programme, Dir Area Development Organization, Paiman, Sahar Arts Council, Fatima Welfare Foundation and ABKT participated in the meeting.

DENGUE AWARENESS: The health department on Tuesday distributed pamphlets as part of an awareness campaign against dengue as weather started to get warmer in the mountainous region.

Early and late summer is the time when mosquito carrying dengue virus bites people and infects them. The one-page pamphlet that is sponsored by the World Health Organisation and Unicef asked people to take safety measures that were listed in the leaflet.

The pamphlet explained four aspects of the dengue virus that included symptoms, breeding places, safety measures and treatment. A coloured picture of mosquito that transmits dengue virus was also given on top of the page.

Under the subheading of “treatment,” people were warned that no vaccines treating dengue patient had yet been invented. Thus, the handbill suggested that safety measures could protect people from the disease.

The safety measures suggested that people should wear full trousers and full sleeves. It said mosquito-repelling lotion and mosquito-killing spray should also be used at homes. It asked people to cover water and ensure cleanliness.

An official of the health department said the pamphlets were distributed in markets and taxi stands. Shopkeepers in Dir Bazaar said they received the pamphlets on Tuesday and some of them pasted the pamphlet on their shop walls.

The official said the pamphlet would also be given to students in schools so they had some level of awareness. He added that the students would be asked to take the pamphlets home. He said they had received 6,000 pamphlets and distributed 3,000 of them in Dir town.

The official said several technicians from Upper Dir had already been trained in Swat to deal with dengue patients.