Anti-dengue drive from March 1 in Rawalpindi
The eight-month anti-dengue campaign for the new year will start from March 1 and continue till October 31. A new anti-dengue micro plan has been prepared for the campaign.
Under the plan, the training of dengue staff will begin in the third week of Feb, while 3,000 new dengue sanitary patrol workers including a good number of women, will be recruited as daily wagers.
This time, a priority will be given to Pothwari, Pashtun, Punjabi and Pahari languages speaking women so that they can continue the dengue campaign by visiting housewives in the densely populated areas of the inner city.
Under the new anti-dengue plan, the Rawalpindi district is divided into four sectors. Cluster centres consisting of two to three union councils in the city and two to three wards in Cantt have been formed. A total of 27 cluster centres have been set up and each cluster centre has an independent in-charge.
Each cluster centre will have teams of 12 to 15 women and men workers who will work from 8am to 5pm.
All those areas, from where dengue patients had appeared in the last five years, have been declared as sensitive and separate in-charges have been appointed in all these areas.
There will also be third-party survey teams, comprising three organisations, for the campaign. These teams will conduct a third-party survey of each cleared area. If dengue larvae are found during surveys, actions will be taken against the teams.
New spray pumps, modern sprays and protective kits have been ordered in large numbers for the new anti-dengue campaign. From March 1, the weeding of grass, weed and hemp will also be started in vacant plots and graveyards to prevent the spread of dengue. The Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC) will be responsible for cleaning cemeteries and weeding grass and hemp.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 15th 2024.