RAWALPINDI: The district administration on Saturday asked the District Health Authority to expedite efforts to eliminate dengue larvae in all 23 high-risk union councils.

An important meeting of the District Emergency Response Committee (DERC) for dengue control was held at the Deputy Commissioner’s offices under the chairmanship of Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Abdul Rehman Khan.

The meeting was attended by officials from the health department, local government institutions, education, livestock, agriculture, environment, Rescue 1122 and other relevant departments, and a detailed review of the ongoing measures to combat dengue across the district was taken.

During the meeting, a detailed briefing was given on the current situation of dengue, identification of hotspots, indoor and outdoor surveillance, larval destruction campaign, sanitation arrangements and public awareness activities.

The ADC directed that all departments should make the anti-dengue campaign more active through mutual communication and effective coordination, and no negligence in field activities would be tolerated.

He ordered the concerned officials to regularly monitor cemeteries, junkyards, construction sites, tyre shops, nurseries, government and private buildings and other sensitive places so that the possibilities of dengue mosquito breeding can be completely eliminated.

He also emphasised that awareness about preventive measures should be further promoted among citizens so that the public can also play an effective role in this campaign.

The ADC further added that the prevention of dengue is the joint responsibility of not only government institutions but the entire society.

“All departments should perform their responsibilities in an efficient manner as per the instructions of the Punjab Government and ensure monitoring of field activities on a daily basis so that the district can be kept safe from dengue,” he said.

The concerned departments were directed to adopt a coordinated strategy to achieve the goals of the anti-dengue campaign, further strengthen inter-agency cooperation and utilise all available resources to protect public health.

The officials of the health authority informed the meeting that in 2022, more than eight patients were reported in the garrison city from March to June 13, while this year, 2026, only two cases were reported, and there is no patient admitted to the hospitals.

They said that from February to June, a total of 2,765,061 houses were checked and found to have dengue larvae in 39,272 houses. 934,586 spots in outdoor checked, and dengue larvae were found at 6,895 sites, and total 1268 teams participated in this drive. They said that a total of 133 sites were sealed, 625 challans were issued, and Rs1,966,000 fine was imposed on violators of the dengue standard operating procedures.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2026