RAWALPINDI, March 29: Authorities on Thursday dropped pamphlets from the air in a bid to sensitise residents about dengue as part of the anti-dengue campaign launched in Rawalpindi.

The Parks and Horticulture Agency (PHA) with the assistance of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) dropped over 500,000 leaflets from a chopper instructing residents about the precautionary measures to be adopted for preventing the deadly fever caused by special mosquitoes.

The chopper was requisitioned by District Coordination Officer (DCO) Saqib Zaffar that dropped the brochures in thickly populated areas including Peshawar Road, Benazir Bhutto Road, localities in the vicinity of Benazir Bhutto International Airport, cantonment areas and Sadiqabad.

The pamphlets highlighted precautionary instructions with an appeal to the people not to keep stagnant water in pots, tyres and to call the health authorities to fumigate their streets, in case the staff has not yet visited them.

The leaflets also appealed to the residents to immediately consult physicians or medical camps established by the administration in case they were suspected of dengue fever. “We want to deter people from providing the habitat to the mosquito that causes dengue. They must act on the instructions mentioned in the leaflets,” Managing director PHA Capt Mushtaq Ahmed told Dawn on Thursday.

He said that banners and posters had been displayed at every corner of the city besides launching fumigation drive adding that support from the residents could make anti-dengue drive a success story.