RAWALPINDI: As part of a campaign against dengue mosquitoes, the district administration on Tuesday asked the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) to trim grass on the roadside greenbelts and in parks.

It also directed the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) to fix water leakages in the city areas as accumulated water would likely become breeding place for the dengue mosquitoes.

It further asked the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) to improve the sanitation condition of the city and ensure the cleanliness of roads and streets besides draining out the accumulated water.

These directives were given to the civic bodies in a meeting held at Deputy Commissioner Office with Additional Deputy Commissioner Saima Younas in the chair. The meeting was attended by officials of district health authority and other departments.

The meeting was informed that as many as 303 suspected patients arrived in three government-run hospitals in the city and their dengue serology was in progress and reports would be arrived in a day or two.

It further informed from June 11 to June 17, during anti-dengue drive, dengue larvae were found in 145 houses and 30 commercial sites in the city and cantonment areas.

During the campaign, a total 331 teams checked 56,709 houses in city and cantonment areas and found dengue larvae in 145 houses. The officials said they started fumigation in the areas where dengue larvae were found.

They said the local residents had been asked to ensure cleanliness of their houses and roof tops and did not let water to accumulate near water tanks and flower pots. The fumigation will be conducted in all the areas where dengue larvae were found.

They informed the meeting that 219 teams visited 44,614 commercial sites and public places and found dengue larvae in 30 sites.

They said they sprayed anti-dengue medicines in the commercial site and also asked the owners of the commercial outlets to adopt safety measures to avoid spread of dengue virus otherwise stern action would be taken against the owners of the shops where dengue mosquitoes were found.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Saima Younas asked the government departments and civic bodies to work as per standard operating procedures issued by the provincial government.

She said it was the duty of the government department to speed up the work to avoid spread of the dengue virus in the city and cantonment areas.

She urged the residents of the city and cantonment areas to play their role and adopt safety measures.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2019