Dengue larvae detected at 19 places in Sargodha

SARGODHA: Focal person for dengue control Dr Tariq Hassan on Monday disclosed that dengue larvae had been detected at 19 places in the district.

Talking here, he said that all 19 places had been sprayed to eliminate the presence of dengue virus while strict monitoring was also under way. He said that total 501 vector surveillance teams had been performing duties in the area to eliminate larvae. The anti-dengue brigades were also vigilant to handle the situation, adding that no case of dengue fever had been reported in the area so far. More than 350 suspected patients visited the public sector hospitals while no symptoms of dengue virus could be detected in them, he told. Dengue counters had also been established at all hospitals, he said and added that higher dependency unit (HDU) had also been established here for in time treatment of the patients.

Commissioner Zafar Iqbal and Deputy Commissioner Silwat Saeed had also issued directions to the quarters concerned for implementation of the standards operating procedures (SOPs), he added. District Health Authority’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Suleman Zahid urged people to avoid storage of water openly and also asked for covering open water reservoirs to upcoming dengue mosquito threat. According to experts, current year’s monsoon season was supportive for the dengue larva breeding, he said. The dengue larvae become mosquito after four years period and current season was the year of its growth while it can also create threat among masses any time, he added.

Dealers to be booked over sale of substandard pesticides, seeds: The district administration Monday directed all Assistant Commissioners (ACs) and agriculture extension officers to raid and register cases against dealers and sale point in-charges involved in overcharging and sale of substandard fertilizers, seeds and pesticides. Addressing a meeting of the district consultative committee and agriculture task force, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Silwat Saeed directed the officials concerned to take action against elements involved in overcharging and adulteration. All officials concerned and representatives of farmers associations also attended the meeting. To improve the marketing system in the agriculture setup, a planning was underway to establish a marketing authority here, after which the role of middleman would be eliminated, the DC said.

She assured farmers of Rs 2 billion pending payments for sugarcane crop by the Alarabia Sugar Mills and Rs190 million by the Bhalwal Sugar Mills. Deputy Director Agriculture Dr Basharat Ali told meeting that rice crop was being cultivated on 152,000 acres of land, sugarcane on 157,000 acres and citrus on 175,000 acres of land in the district. The department was also taking action against dealers selling zinc in the markets and so far 28 samples had been collected and one FIR registered in this regard. He said that during 2018 campaign against adulteration, total 147 samples had been collected and nine FIRs were registered while Rs160,000 fine was imposed on violators.

Different banks have also distributed Rs650 million among 6,808 farmers and Rs109,000 fine was imposed on dealers involved in overcharging of fertilizers.

Teachers showing poor performance to be trained: The Education Department will organise training workshops for teachers who failed to produce good results in the Secondary Schools Certificate (SSC) examinations.

Talking to reporters, District Education Officer (DEO) Secondary Malik Manzoor said 3-day training schedule had been issued for such teachers, starting from August 1. He said one-day training would be provided to 235 teachers of 16 secondary schools of Sargodha tehsil on August 1 at the Government Comprehensive High School for Boys. Total 209 teachers of Kotmomin tehsil would be imparted training at Government High School Kotmomin on August 2, and 52 teachers of Bhalwal tehsil would attend training workshop at Government Boys High School Bhalwal. He said the training to 60 teachers of Bhera tehsil would be held on August 2 at Govt A I Model School Bhera.