RAWALPINDI, Oct 8: As sacrificial animals begin arriving in the city, City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) has announced preventive measures to curb the spread of Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) disease.

Out of all the measures, the most pronounced is a ban on the entry of animals in 46 union councils of Rawal Town.

This was decided in a meeting held here with District Coordination Officer (DCO) Saqib Zafar in the chair.

The meeting was attended by Potohar Town Administrator Talat Mehmood Gondal, Rawal Town Administrator Saif Anwar Jappa, Executive District Officer Municipal Services Imtiaz Ahmed Malik, District Officer Solid Waste Management Dr Mazhar Azeem and other officials.

The meeting revealed that there was no vacant land in Rawal Town for the establishment of a cattle market.

Insiders told Dawn that RTMA wanted to establish a cattle market and a new slaughter house but the area was surrounded by residential colonies and was near City Saddar Road, which is a main business hub for electronic, wooden and heavy machinery.

Some participants were of the view that the establishment of a cattle market would create traffic hurdles on the road, as heavy traffic passes through the area.

The DCO said that town municipal administrations (TMAs) should not allow the establishment of makeshift cattle pens on the main roads and in residential areas.

“The TMAs should submit suggestions for the setting up of cattle markets in or around the city area within three days,” he said.

After cattle markets, Congo fever also came up for discussion. It was connected with the fact that recently a patient was admitted in Holy Family Hospital on September 27 and later diagnosed with Congo fever. However the patient is now on the recovery path.

The DCO asked the agriculture and health departments to make arrangements for the spray of medicines around the cattle markets, which would be set up next week.

He said that all the animals should be vaccinated to avoid the threat of Congo fever. He added that the health department would be asked to deploy its teams on the entry points of the city to provide vaccination to animals arriving from different districts.

The DCO asked the solid waste management to install banners with an appeal to the public not to dump animal waste on the roads. He said  sanitary workers would pick up animal waste from the streets and transfer it to designated spots identified by the city district government.