RAWALPINDI, Aug 25: The City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) on Saturday started a campaign to prevent the spread of dengue virus during monsoon. Allied hospitals and rural health centres have been put on red alert.

On the first day of the campaign, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Saqib Zafar along with Executive District Officer Health Dr Zafar Iqbal Gondal, EDO Municipal Services Imtiaz Malik, District Officer Solid Waste Management Dr Mazhar Azeem, District Officer Health Dr Ansar Ishaq and others, visited construction sites in search of Aedes Aegypti (dengue mosquito) larvae.

They continued their search at Chandni Chowk, Commercial Market, Haideri Chowk, E-Block, T.B. Hospital on Asghar Mall Road, Saidpur Road, Shamsabad and Benazir Bhutto Road.

However, the team found no larvae in the area. The DCO warned the owners of vacant plots on Saidpur Road and Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA) to drain water from vacant plots and the Satellite Town Commercial Market Park within 24 hours, promising strict action if they do not do so.

They also asked RTMA to remove unwrapped tyres from Bachon ki Dunyia (Satellite Town Park) within the next 24 hours. The administration and the health department have been told to remove all stagnant water from roadsides and parks to prevent breeding of dengue mosquitoes.

“We started the campaign as a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of dengue virus within the city,” DCO Saqib Zafar told Dawn.

He added that entomologists had been asked to intensify their campaign as well as their larvae search-and-destroy mission to protect residents.

He said the CDGR would also check the government offices and buildings on Sunday as well as other parts of the city, including Adiala Jail, from Monday. He said it had been brought to their attention that the backyards of government offices were often neglected during such campaigns, and stagnant water was seen there after rainfall.

“The Civil Defence department office located on Airport Road has been asked to make arrangements for its own cleanliness with the help of its volunteers because, due to a fire station, water accumulates around the office,” he added.