RAWALPINDI: After alarming increase in the number of dengue patients, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has asked the provincial chief secretary and adviser on health to stay in the city and supervise the campaign against the disease.

In Rawalpindi, over 638 confirmed dengue fever cases were reported in one month whereas in all other districts (35) of the province only 129 patients landed in hospitals.

Presiding over a meeting through video link from Lahore, the chief minister reprimanded heads of departments and institutions concerned and officers of the administration for their poor performance.

The chief minister was not ready to listen to excuses of the health department experts that heavy rains caused the spread of dengue virus in the garrison city.

“It is beyond my comprehension that when all the districts including Rawalpindi received equal amount of rain, why the garrison city has reported the staggering figure of 638 dengue patients,” he said.

Punjab CM reprimands city district government officials for poor performance

“It shows criminal negligence by the departments and institutions concerned as they did not take timely measures to control the disease. I will not accept any excuse in this regard,” the chief minister said.

 He said that the Punjab government had evolved an effective strategy against dengue but the departments concerned of the Rawalpindi city district government had failed to implement them.

He said had the district government taken timely measures, the situation would not have emerged in Rawalpindi.

The chief minister said there was nothing more precious than human life therefore, effective measures should be adopted against dengue and modern technology should be utilised for this purpose.

He said anti-dengue plan should be fully implemented and the departments concerned should collectively take effective measures to control the disease.

He said due attention should be paid to indoor and outdoor dengue surveillance.

He directed the adviser, health, chief secretary, secretary health and vice chancellor King Edward Medical University to stay in Rawalpindi and personally supervise the anti-dengue campaign.

Provincial ministers Rana Mashhood Ahmad, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, Dr. Farrukh Javed, the chief secretary, the IGP, the additional chief secretary and authorities concerned participated in the meeting from Civil Secretariat, Lahore.

Adviser on health, Khawaja Salman Rafique, assembly members, former MNA Hanif Abbasi, secretary health, Dr Faisal Masood, DCO Rawalpindi and other officers concerned participated in the meeting through video link from Rawalpindi.

Published in Dawn, September 30th , 2015

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