Due to the Health Department's inadequate performance, dengue has reached alarming levels in Rawalpindi, prompting the declaration of a dengue emergency.
On Friday, four new cases were reported in the city, including two women, raising the total number of patients to 55.
A third-party inspection team from the Agriculture Department, appointed by the Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner, identified overgrown grass and rainwater pools in cemeteries across the city as highly dangerous breeding grounds for the dengue mosquito.
For yet another year, Union Councils Gurja, Dhok Gujran, Qayyumabad, and Dhok Hassu have become dengue hotspots, with a steady increase in reported cases.
Taking serious notice of the outbreak, DC Hassan Waqar Cheema has ordered daily anti-dengue review meetings. Third-party survey teams have been directed to re-examine even those areas previously cleared of larvae.
Meanwhile, nine anti-dengue patrol workers have been suspended and issued show-cause notices for being absent from duty without permission.
In addition to government hospitals, private health facilities are also witnessing a rise in dengue patients. Declaring a city-wide dengue emergency, the DC instructed multiple departments to take urgent action: the Education Department to inspect government and private schools, the Environment Department to monitor junkyards, the Municipal Corporation to clear cemeteries, the Forest Department to examine wooded areas, and the Auqaf Department to check mosques and shrines for larvae.
Alarmingly, large concentrations of dengue larvae were discovered in water tanks at three shrines in Rawalpindi. Over the past 24 hours, 1,764 houses were inspected, and in cases where larvae were detected, five FIRs were registered.
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