Dhaka, Aug 06 – Expressing disagreement with the Health minister’s statement on dengue
outbreak, Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader yesterday said the overall situation
of dengue outbreak has not improved yet.“The number of dengue infected patients is increasing day by day in the capital so it is not true
that the dengue outbreak is under control. Dengue is out of control…this is the reality,” he said
this while speaking to the media at the party headquarters at Bangabandhu avenue in the city.
Earlier, Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday claimed that the number of patients being
infected with dengue fever is coming down across the country as social movement has begun
across the country to build awareness against dengue fever.
The AL spokesperson reiterated his call to the city mayors as well as ward councillors to work
sincerely in curbing dengue outbreak. “None including MPs, Ministers, Mayors, even journalists
will be spared from the bite of Aedes mosquito. So be careful and work as per the instruction of
the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” he said.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the ward councillors for not conducting party sponsored
cleanliness programmes in their respective wards in the city, Quader said anti-dengue
campaigning is not being conducted properly in the most of wards in the city.
“There are 109 wards in Dhaka city but anti-dengue campaigning was conducted at only nine
wards out of 109, which is very unfortunate. We all will have to be careful and work in line with
the party president Sheikh Hasina’s prescription to overcome the prevailing crisis,” he said.
He also called upon the party’s ward presidents and general secretaries to cooperate with city
councillors in carrying out cleanliness drives at every places of the city.
Stating that aedes is a deadly mosquito, Quader said once it gets chance, the mosquito will bite,
calling upon people to stay alert against aedes mosquito and continue cleanliness drives to
prevent dengue prevalence.
“We carried out anti-dengue progarmmes in some places. After that, aedes mosquito and its
breeding grounds were not destroyed in all places. Dengue prevalence could not be prevented.
And that’s why we should stay alert against aedes mosquito,” he said.
The AL general secretary said cleanliness is a precondition of destruction of mosquito breeding
grounds, so cleanliness programmes must continue.
About the comments of BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir over ‘dengue
rumours’, Quader said: “If there is no media in the country, a big party like BNP would not be
found. They have failed in all fields. They do not come forward to prevent dengue. They do not
stand by flood victims. Their residential representative only holds press conference.”
AL joint general secretaries Mahbubul Alam Hanif and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, its organising
secretaries AFM Bahauddin Nasim and Enamul Haque Shamim, central committee members
Kamrul Islam and SM Kamal Hossain, AL Dhaka South City general secretary Shahe Alam
Murad and Haji Selim, MP, were, among others, present. – Staff Reporter
