KARACHI, Oct 15: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Monem Zafar inaugurated a 10-day spray campaign in all districts of the city, here on Thursday.
Speaking to media representatives on the occasion of the inauguration, he said Karachi and every citizen living in it was theirs.
He said the spray campaign would be run across the city without any political or regional discrimination and fumigation would be carried out in every district.
He said the aim of the campaign was to prevent breeding of mosquitoes and flies and to try to protect citizens from diseases like dengue and malaria.
He said for prevention of dengue, malaria and other diseases in an environment of poor sanitation arrangements and garbage heaps everywhere in the city, not only a spray campaign was necessary but it was also necessary to improve sanitation and drainage system in the city.He said the Sindh government, Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and Water Corporation should fulfill their responsibilities to control problems caused by garbage heaps and stagnant water.The JI leader said despite allocation of a Rs393 billion budget for health in the province, citizens were not getting better medical treatment facilities in different government hospitals of the city, including Jinnah Hospital, Civil Hospital and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.He also expressed sorrow and grief over the tragic incident of roof collapse of a private school in Peshawar in which 35 children, including a teacher, died, and sympathising with affected families, said the government should provide immediate medical assistance to injured children and take necessary steps to help affected families. He also prayed for patience for families of deceased children and early recovery of injured.He further said that due to garbage heaps and drainage problems in Karachi, there was growing fear of mosquito breeding and spread of dengue, malaria and other diseases.He said the basic responsibility of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board was to collect garbage from houses and take it to landfill sites and supervise the entire process, but garbage heaps were seen everywhere in the metropolis. Similarly, due to problems in water supply and drainage system, water accumulated in various areas, which caused mosquito breeding.He said citizens should also keep their houses and surroundings clean, not allow water to accumulate and take precautionary measures to prevent diseases.Alkhidmat Karachi CEO Naveed Ali Baig said Alkhidmat Karachi carried out spray work throughout the year, but the 10-day fumigation campaign had been specially launched at the Karachi level.He said during the campaign, Alkhidmat would carry out spray in government and private institutions, educational institutions, hospitals and other places along with residential areas and Alkhidmat's spray vehicles would carry out fumigation on a daily basis.He said in the current season, mosquitoes and flies breed and diseases like malaria and dengue spread and many patients were being reported in government and private hospitals. The work that Alkhidmat does regarding health and cleanliness, the fumigation programme is part of it.JI Karachi Secretary Information Zahid Askari, Alkhidmat's Rashid Qureshi, Alkhidmat Karachi Community Services wing Director Mohammad Umer Qaimkhani, Manager Sarfaraz Shaikh and others were also present on the occasion.