BAHAWALPUR: The health department has stepped up the dengue larvae surveillance campaign in the district after the detection of larvae at two places in the Government Officers’ Residential Colony on Monday.

According to Dr Zakir Hussain, the district coordinator (preventive), the department has taken notice of the detection of dengue larvae and assigned the surveillance drive to 512 health teams. He told Dawn that 412 teams comprising 824 women employees of the department would search for larvae inside houses, while the remaining 100 -- mostly consisting of male employees -- would search outside the houses in most of the urban and selected rural places across the district.

He said that the campaign would continue for two months till any chances of outbreak of dengue were over with the change in weather.

On Monday, dengue larvae were detected in two houses of the officers’ colony. One of them was found in the bungalow of an additional district collector, while the other in a rest house there.

The coordinator said that presently government entomologists were busy analysing these two larvae to determine the reasons for their presence.

CONTEMPT PLEA: The office-bearers of the Pakistan Railways Workers Union Sammasatta and parents of schoolchildren have submitted a joint contempt of court application to the Bahawalpur bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the administration of Pakistan Railways for creating hurdles in the running of two railways’ schools in Sammasatta.

The application was filed as the high court bench on July 24 had ordered continuation of two railway schools in Sammasatta. But, according to the petitioners, after the end of the summer vacation when the children went back to schools, both were found locked and the children and teachers held classes under tents on self-help.

Union President Rana Sharif, a retired employee Rana Mushtaq and social worker Sana Habib protested against railway officials. Sharif said the original writ petition was filed on July 24 against the railways Lahore general manager, railway education director, railways Multan divisional superintendent and others. On that petition, the high court had restrained the railway administration from closing down the two schools.

The LHC Bahawalpur bench has fixed Aug 22 to hear the contempt plea.

Before the summer vacation, the schoolchildren had held several protests under the patronage of workers union against the railways’ decision to close down the two schools.

RELIEF CAMPS: The district administration has decided to set up seven relief camps in the district for flood-affected people and their animals.

These relief camps would be established at Government High School Jhoke Shaira and Government Girls High School Fatowali near the city, rest house Jhangra Sharqi, Government High School Khairpur Daha and Government High School Dhoorekote in Ahmedpur East tehsil.

In Hasilpur tehsil, two relief camps would be set up at Jamalpur Bakainwala Head Islam.

Rescue 1122 has set up a relief camp at Bahawalpur bridge over Sutlej to meet any emergency arising out of the rising of water level in the river.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2019