Chandigarh, August 25, 2023 (Yes Punjab News)
As a part of the ongoing anti-dengue drive “Har Shukarvaar, Dengue Te Vaar” launched by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh on third consecutive Friday hit the ground running, this time by inspecting official residences of his cabinet colleagues, circuit house and party office of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab situated at Sector 39 here.
Pertinently, Dr Balbir Singh had visited door-to-door to sensitise people by showing them the hotspots of Dengue larvae to kick off this campaign from village Behlolpur in the SAS Nagar district on August 4.
During his visit on Friday, the Health Minister checked at least 12 premises, of which, seven included official residences of cabinet ministers— including his own, and found larvae in five of them. The Minister also checked the official residence of the Leader of Opposition, Circuit House and the party office of AAP Punjab during the visit.
The Health Minister inspected the mosquito larvae hotspots including desert coolers, trays kept under flower pots, vessels filled with water for birds and utensils lying in the open.
“Surprisingly, we have found dengue larvae almost in every premises, which is very concerning as dengue is a deadly disease and can only be prevented if we do not let water be stagnant in our surroundings,” he said, while exhorting people to spare at least one day in a week to drain out/flush out the stagnant water to stop the breeding of dengue larvae, which takes a week to become a mosquito.
The Health Minister also sensitised the caretakers of each house regarding preventive measures, which can be helpful in the elimination of the dengue larvae.
Dr Balbir Singh said that the intent of CM Bhagwant Mann behind launching this awareness drive was to educate people and make it a mass-level campaign to beat dengue disease, which can be easily defeated with community participation.
Underlining the severity of dengue, he said that if dengue strain changes to hemorrhagic, then it could lead to a reduction in platelet count, therefore critically affecting the patient and can be fatal. If every one of us contributes to this drive then we can save ourselves from such consequences, he added.
The Minister said he has instructed all the officers and other staff of the health department right from the Director to the ASHA workers to carry out awareness activities and engage the general public in this campaign so that the attitude and behaviour of the people can be changed. He further said Health Committees in every village and mohalla should carry out these anti-dengue activities every Friday from 9 am to 10 am.
On the occasion, Director Health and Family Welfare Dr Adarshpal Kaur, Civil Surgeon Mohali Dr Mahesh Ahuja, State Program Officer (NVBDCP) Dr Arshdeep Kaur and other health officials were also present.
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