The Health Directorate of Capital Development Authority (CDA) will start distribution of awareness material about dengue virus and its precautionary measures among students from today.
Talking to APP, Director, Health Directorate, Dr Hassan Arooj said that the awareness material including pamphlets and brochures would be distributed at CDA Model Schools initially to aware students about the deadly dengue virus.
He said the awareness session would also be arranged in public schools in collaboration with Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) while the Directorateis also planning to take all private educational institutions on-board to raise awareness among school children.
Directorate of Health and enforcement division of CDA has also held a campaign to remove tyres from six to seven sectors of the federal capital because water remained in the used tyres become most suitable place for dengue breeding, he said.
Taking pre-emptive measures to avert the threat of dengue spread in the municipal limits, Dr Hassan said that the directorate is following a detailed plan of action especially focusing on high-risk areas.
The Directorate has completed the mapping of the areas, where environment may be conducive for dengue mosquito breeding. It has also carried out spray and fumigation during the last
two months.
The anti-malaria squad of the directorate has drained out maximum larval habitats and breeding sites, including ponds, nullahs and streams. The channelization of stagnant natural streams has also been done in Katchi Abadis in G-7, F-7 and G-9 sectors.
The directorate has identified three categories, including high-risk,
moderate risk and low risk areas and it has also grouped anti-malaria squad into three teams ie team one, comprising eight workers and a supervisor, deputed for channelization of nullahs; team two, comprising spray-men and a supervisor, deputed for the spray of high risk areas, while team three comprises of two spray men, deputed for emergency spray in high risk area.
The Health Services Wing has initiated larviciding campaign from first week of March, under which larvicides are being added in nullahs, streams, ponds and other larval habitats.
The breeding samples of mosquitoes are being collected to identify the Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus.
The solid wastes were being removed from the vicinity of dwellings and surrounding areas, so that the dengue mosquitoes could not breed, Dr Hassan said.
The Directorate has appealed to the residents of the federal capital to discard drums, vases, buckets, earthen jars, used tyres, water jars, coconut shells, tins, bottles, boxes, clay pots, bamboo ends, rubbish and other water containers because these provide good breeding grounds for dengue mosquitoes. As the climate is changing, the temperature as well as humidity is becoming favourable for the emergence of mosquitoes, so the public should install wire gauze on the doors and windows, he said.
Snow melting process likely from 1st week of April, says Met: Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director General Arif Mehmood on Tuesday said that process of snow melting is likely to start from first week of April as temperatures will rise during the coming days.
Talking to APP, he said the snow melting started on mountain when temperature raised to 20 degrees centigrade in hilly areas including Gupis, Gilgit and Skardu, however it is being recorded between 13C to 15C these days.
About snowfall in some upper parts of the country during last 24 hours, the DG Met said it is not unusual phenomenon because the snowfall had been recorded at some hilly areas even in the month of April in the past.
“This cannot be called climate change, these rare events happen due to weather variabilities because nature never behave alike,” Arif said. About pollen count, the DG Met said that it was recorded over 34,000 during last 24 hours, however, it slightly decreased due to cloudy weather today as the pollen concentration of paper mulberry was recorded 28,780 in sector H-8.
It will start rising again as it will get clear sunshine day after tomorrow as weather may remain cloudy in federal capital during next 24 hours, he said.
Mainly dry weather is expected in most parts of the country during next 24 hours however, thunderstorm and rain is expected at isolated places in Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kallat division of Balochistan during next 24 hours. Kalam received one inch snowfall on Monday.
However, the rainfall recorded during last 24 hours was Garidopatta 20 mm, Balakot 6 mm, Malamjabba 6 mm, Rawlakot, Pattan and Muzaffarabad 3 mm, Ziarata and Murree 2 mm.
