MITHI, Oct 24: The members of district council of Tharparkar have urged the government to restart the national malaria control programme, which has remained suspended for the last couple of years in Thar.

Muhammad Usman Daal, Sita Bai, Bherulal and others drew the attention of the district Nazim and other government functionaries towards the menace of mosquitoes, flies, insects and poisonous reptiles which have multiplied the sufferings of the people of Thar.

The members of the district council pointed out that the discontinuation of malaria control programme by the health department has created sanitary problems in every village and town of the district and one can see flies and mosquitoes hovering and buzzing at every location, because no civic agency had bothered to launch anti-insect drive.

On the occasion the executive district officer, health, informed the members that the government has not provided any funds or insecticide for the said programme for the last few years.

He said that the higher authorities of the health department have told him at a meeting that it was not the responsibility of their department to launch spray measures, hence the local council have to get the needful done through their own resources.