The dengue effect

As dengue spreads its tentacles killing 33 till date only in the city, almost all parks and gardens are fast losing its numbers of visitors, specially morning and evening joggers. Over the last two weeks, the visitor strength is at its lowest ebb, which is unusual in the history of Lahore, which is reckoned “City of Gardens”.
The park-goers have ceased to visit parks and gardens to prevent themselves from dengue mosquitoes, which have turned to be more lethal than terrorists. Despite the fact that Punjab government, in cooperation with the health department, parliamentarians, CDGL, LDA, WASA, PHA and other authorities is engaged in spraying and fogging to curb the spread of dengue, but the terror of dengue is so rampant that even regular visitors have discontinue their visits. Though it is famous phrase that old habits die hard, but in dengue’s case people have changed their old habits of frequenting parks in morning and evening.
Imran, resident of GOR-I, told Pakistan Today that except various catastrophes, dengue had completely changed the people’s lifestyle. “We used to go parks in morning and evening to freshen up and recharge ourselves to remain healthy. Since my school-going age, my father used to take me to parks daily. We also used to jog and enjoy,” he said. However, he said, dengue had snatched all such happiness.
Nazia, a regular jogger at Race Course Park, said morning walk introduced to visitors a new world embellished with the emerging sun, peace and tranquility, tweeting of birds, lush green landscape, gorgeous flowers and splendid trees. “I am no more a part of the beautiful world of morning as I can not risk my life at the time dengue is at large,” she said. Khalid Khan at Ghulshan-e-Park said he feared that he left the habit of evening walk after his brother and other relatives who used to visit the park contracted dengue.
Aneela Shah, visitor to Nawaz Sharif Park, said she had never seen fumigation being done. She said the park had become a haven for mosquitoes. She said children and the elderly who visited the park were most vulnerable to the viruses the mosquitoes carried.
According to senior official of City District Government Lahore (CDGL), there were more than 3000 parks falling under CDGL, Pakistan Horticulture and Horticulture (PHA), Lahore Cantonment Board (LCB), Walton Cantonment Board (WCB), Defense Housing Authority (DHA), Model Town, private housing societies and all nine towns. Unofficial statistics revealed that visitor’s numbers had decreased. Though parks were not totally empty but visitors’ strength had been affected due to dengue threat, he added.
PHA additional DG Captain (r) Usman Younis said that dengue’s active time as per the health department was in the morning from 5am to 7am and in the evening from 6pm to 7pm.
“Parks are usually crowded with visitors in morning and evening, but now they have been thinned out of people due to dengue,” he added. However, he said that parks were not wearing a deserted look and still people liked to visit the parks. DHA Resident Association president also confirmed that morning and evening walkers had now stopped going to parks. However, he praised DHA administration for all steps taken to check dengue in the area.
Model Town Resident Association President Azam Bhakat said that Model Town society administration had failed to fumigate residential areas as well as public places such as parks to kill these mosquitoes. “It seems to depend on change of season to kill the mosquitoes that caused diseases like malaria and dengue,” he added.