LAHORE – Special Assistant to Chief Minister for Health Khawaja Salman Rafiq has directed TMAs to expedite the process of registration and issuance of licences to tyre shops in their respective jurisdictions.
Chairing a meeting of Cabinet Committee held here Tuesday to review arrangements for Dengue Prevention and Control, he directed the administration of Mayo, Sir Ganga Ram, Services, Jinnah, Said Mitha, Kot Khawaja Saeed and Nawaz Sarif Social Security hospitals to improve cleanliness and drain out stagnant water from the premises. Elected representatives from Lahore, secretaries and senior officers of Health, Education, Environment, Auqaf, Local Government, Labour, Forest and Fisheries, Punjab Information Technology Board and other departments attended the meeting.
Secretary Health Arif Nadeem informed the meeting that during the last three days, Health Department teams visited 29,988 houses and 87,357 containers for vector surveillance. During these visits larva was reported from few places. He informed that mechanical larviciding was carried out on the spot. He further informed that only one confirmed dengue case has so far been reported in Punjab.
The Special Secretary Health said mostly dengue larva had been detected from inside the houses, therefore, people should pay special attention on cleanliness and avoid storage of water in open containers, main source of larva breeding. It was informed that Auqaf Department organised seminars in the mosques of Lahore, Pakpattan, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Gujrat and DG Khan for the awareness of general public in which local ulema delivered lectures on the importance of cleanliness.
It was also informed that Environment Department sealed a factory on Ferozpur Road which was utilising old tyres as a fuel. The meeting was further informed that Wasa has cleared 196 sites during the last three days.