The different hospitals of the capital city have received at least 28 patients with dengue system but the Capital Development Authority (CDA) seems unmoved since it has yet to drain out water from the big and small ponds in the Fatima Jinnah Park which is daily visited by hundreds of people.
It is ironic that the government-run awareness campaign urges people to drain out stagnant water in their neighbourhoods while one of its departments is turning a deaf ear to that. The pond which is yet to be drained out by the CDA is located near the main jogging track which belies the CDA’s claim that it has made effective measures to protect the residents from dengue threat.
Pakistan Today learnt on Monday that due to poor cleanliness measures of the CDA, the number of visitors was decreasing at the Fatima Jinnah Park.
“So far different city hospitals have admitted at least 294 dengue patients and out of those 152 are admitted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), 33 patients at Polyclinic Hospital, 9 at Capital Hospital, 72 at Shafia International Hospital and 18 at KRL Hospital”, Islamabad Dengue Control and Surveillance Coordinator Dr Najeebullah Durrani told Pakistan Today. He said that out of 25 dengue patients admitted to city’s hospitals during the last 24 hours sixteen patients belonged to Islamabad. On Monday six suspected dengue patients were brought to the PIMS, seven to the Polyclinic, five to the Capital Hospital and seven to the Shifa International during the last 24 hours.
It is very apathetic of the CDA for not draining out water ponds in the public parks and particularly the Fatima Jinnah Park. By doing so the authority is negligently putting many lives at risk since these ponds serve as the breeding grounds for dengue mosquitoes. The CDA’s failure to maintain cleanliness in the city’s less developed sectors also belies their claims that their sanitation staff are spreading lime at various sites and small water ditches to eliminate dengue mosquitoes and house flies. An official of CDA said that poor coordination among different wings of CDA was one of the reasons for the cleanliness problems in the city as well as at the said park. CDA spokesman Ramazan Sajid said the CDA had launched effective campaign against dengue virus. “The CDA has closed all fountains at public parks and conducted an effective fumigation drive in different parts of the city including drains, slums, greenbelts, garbage sites, parks, ponds, fountains and zoo area. When asked about ponds located in Fatima Jinnah, he said the authority’s directorate concerned had drained those ponds but promised he would look into the matter.
