RAWALPINDI: As the administration registers cases and imposes penalties for violation of anti-dengue measures, traders in the cantonment have expressed resentment over action against them, saying they were being made scapegoats for the negligence of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board and the District Health Authority.

The traders said their shops were being sealed over the presence of dengue larvae despite the fact the district administration did not fumigate their area, adding that action should be taken against the health authority and the Cantt administration for this purported negligence.

Rawalpindi Cantonment Traders Association Secretary General Zafar Qadri said traders were being blamed for the spread of these cases to cover up the negligence of the civic bodies. “The district administration teams inspected shops where there was not even a bathroom but these are still sealed on the account of dengue larvae,” he said.

He said that it had become normal to seal their shops and register FIRs against the businessmen without any plausible reasons. He quipped the administration was even finding dengue larvae in shops that did not even have water.

In the past, the cantonment board and health authorities used to fumigate commercial and domestic areas but this time they did not do that, at least not in Saddar – the commercial hub in the Pindi cantonment.

Meanwhile, a meeting was held at the commissioner’s office, with Secretary of Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Azmat Mehmood in the chair.

Adviser to Chief Minister retired general Azhar Kayani, MNAs Malik Abrar, Barrister Daniyal Chaudhry, and Tahira Aurangzeb along with divisional heads and health department officers participated in the meeting.

Mr Mehmood said that considering anti-dengue activities as a routine matter was the root cause of the problem. He directed the health authority’s CEO to carry out anti-dengue activities in such a way that the hotspots identified this time were not included in the dengue list next year.

Mr Kayani claimed that the involvement of parliamentarians in the drive had not only improved the quality of anti-dengue activities but also helped spread awareness among locals due to convenient access.

Commissioner Aamir Khattak said that all allied departments were in the field with the health department for anti-dengue activities. He said that students were being included in this campaign as well so they could effectively help spread awareness in their families and surrounding areas.

On this occasion, in the briefing by the Health Department, it was informed that 94 confirmed patients were reported in Rawalpindi district during the past 24 hours, after which the number of confirmed patients had reached 3,162 during the current season. Out of them, 2814 have been discharged while 331 are undergoing treatment in different hospitals.

Apart from this, 13 dengue awareness counters have been set up across the city in collaboration with the traffic police for public awareness. Currently, hospitals in the city have a capacity of 600 beds for dengue patients, while the ramp-up plan can take it up to 1000 beds.

It was further informed in the briefing that 4,374 FIRs were registered besides 2,919 challans. 1,683 buildings had also been sealed in the district since January 1, 2024, and a fine of Rs20 million was also imposed over dengue violations.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2024