The district administration should not absolve itself of its basic responsibility to citizens
LAHORE: I have been a resident of a posh, quaint neighbourhood in Lahore for two decades. Today, I feel satisfied that I am part of a community where all basic and necessary amenities are not only available at the doorstep, but are rather perennial. I came across a news item, recently, in which the commissioner of Lahore was quoted to have said that my neighbourhood administration is doing nothing to control the menace of dengue. Gone are the days when our civil servants were the epitome of unpartisan impeccability even while making comments.
Giving the devil its due, the administration seems to be quite alert on the situation. Twice a day, all open areas, roads, streets and public places are regularly sprayed. Anti-dengue awareness brochures and flyers are distributed to homes and public places. Cleanliness weeks are regularly observed. Instead of witnessing a gladiator style blame game between the city’s civil administration and my residential area’s management, the actual reasons for the spread of the dengue virus are to be addressed.
The clean environment and foliage is probably the reason of the vector onslaught and flight of mosquitoes towards my area from the surroundings. In this age, you cannot create islands of tranquillity; therefore, there is a need to augment the efforts of my neighbourhood management by offering the helping hand of administrative machinery of the city. The district administration should not absolve itself of its basic responsibility to citizens of providing a blanket coverage against dengue.
Shereyar Agha
Published in The Express Tribune, October 6th, 2016.
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