KARACHI, Oct 22: Top officials of the city district government and all 18 towns insist that during the recent vigorous fumigation drive across the metropolis, each and every locality was covered and fogging through spraying machines mounted on vehicles had been carried out twice.

However, their claim has left citizens astonished as most people interviewed in various towns said that they had not even seen any such activity that could corroborate the claim.

The citizens complained that no municipal authority was seen taking due interest in taking measures to save them from the threat posed by the outbreak the viral hemorrhagic Vthe dengue fever (VHF) and dengue fever which was spreading fast with each passing day and had already infected hundreds of people.

“We read about the much-trumpeted fumigation drive undertaken by the city government but have seen nothing that could authenticate the claim,” Fayyaz Ahmed, a business executive residing in North Nazimabad Town, said.

He said the provincial and city governments had virtually left the people at the mercy of the lethal disease by declaring that they had no methods to curb it and advising people to adopt the preventive measures to help themselves.

“We abide by the law and pay taxes but no one in the government appeared ready to fulfill his responsibility to ensure protection of people’s health against the threats they are exposed to,” Mr Ahmed said.

Mohammad Ashraf, a resident of Mauripur area, said: “I don’t know whether it was a drive or a routine activity, but I had spotted one vehicle with fumigation machine passing through my locality a few days back. It was not seen again in the following days.”

Experts say the fumigation drive may not result in complete elimination of the mosquitoes responsible for the dengue fever spread, but it may kill many of the insects that spread various diseases, ultimately curbing the outbreak to a great extent.

“Regular fumigation is a primary job of our municipalities because it is an effective measure to save people from epidemics,” Dr Qaisar Sajjad, Secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association, Karachi chapter, said.

Let alone the city, the hygienic conditions are poor even in the two major hospitals which, along with some other public and private hospitals, keep the patients affected by the VHF for treatment. These hospitals and many schools in the city are the places where risks are aplenty for workers and visitors to get infected by the VHF, including dengue.

Experts apprehend that the situation might turn worse if the provincial and city governments failed to launch an extensive and effective cleanliness campaign besides the drive for aerial and ground spray to eliminate mosquitoes. Medical practitioners warn that unhygienic conditions, especially at and around hospitals, educational institutions, recreational spots, etc were helping spread of VHF in Karachi.

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal dispels the impression that the city government is not taking interest in carrying out fumigation drive in an effective manner. He says that the municipal authorities have already carried out fumigation across the city twice.

“We are very much concerned about the incidence of dengue in our city and are serious in our efforts to save the citizens from this menace,” Mr Kamal told Dawn on Sunday, adding: “We have already fumigated the city twice and are still stick to our efforts to eradicate the viral disease as soon as possible.”

He said the city government was inherited with only five fumigation machines when he assumed the charge of the top slot, but after a few months, the city government purchased the machines in a sufficient number and provided three machines each to all 18 towns, retaining 20 for the revival of CDGK’s vector control programme.

“We have, in fact, reactivated the vector control programme which had been abandoned long ago,” he said, adding that the 20 machines retained by the city government were being used in fumigating two towns twice a day.

“We carry out the fumigation at sunrise and sunset, as these are the timings the dengue-carrying mosquitoes strike their human targets.”

The city nazim claimed that the government’s efforts had resulted in a decline in the ratio of fatalities from dengue as compared to the rate recorded last year.

“Last year, seven per cent of the dengue patients succumbed to this lethal disease but this year, it is less than two per cent,” he argued, attributing the achievement to the increasing awareness among the people and the timely and effective measures taken by the city government.

He said the city government had initially allocated Rs1.8 million for subsidising the cost of blood tests and platelet kits in order to provide relief to dengue patients. It would spend more money if and when required, he pledged.

Mr Kamal said he was busy holding consultations with the aviation authorities to acquire aircraft for spray, and once the modalities were agreed upon, the plan would be implemented.

“We are insisting on carrying out the aerial spray from a maximum height of 500 feet because the spray from a height of above 2,000 feet would be ineffective,” said Syed Mustafa Kamal.