Govt blames climate change for surge in vector-borne diseases

• Nida Khuhro tells PA 181 of 831 people tested positive for chikungunya in province
• Speaker calls for action against top management of power utilities if they don’t attend special committee’s meetings

KARACHI: Amid an alarming rise in chikungunya cases in the metropolis, the Sindh Assembly was on Wednesday informed that recent rainfall and climate change had led to an increase in vector-borne diseases (VBDs) across the province.

In her call-attention notice, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan lawmaker Sikandar Khatoon said that the cases of chikungunya had been rising in the province and its test was very expensive. She asked about the measures being taken by the provincial government to control the rapid spread of the disease Replying to this, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Nida Khuhro of the Pakistan Peoples Party conceded that the rainfall and climate change had resulted into favourable breeding conditions for mosquitoes which led to increase in vector-borne diseases.

She said that the provincial government was taking preventive measures, including frequent fumigation campaigns to eliminate mosquitoes. She said that the government was planning to launch awareness campaigns as well.

She said that first case of chikungunya was detected in Tanzania in 1952, while the first case in the province was reported in 2016.

Ms Khuhro said that chikungunya was not a contagious disease and spread only due to the bite of an infected mosquito.

She said the symptoms of the disease usually included high fever, severe joint and muscle pain, headache and swelling, adding that the pain and fever were managed through analgesics.

She said as many as 554 healthcare providers had been trained for laboratory testing and case management leading to improved clinical care.

She said that 831 people were screened at the government facilities in the province during the current year and 181 of them were found positive.

She said that all reported cases of chikugunya had been registered with the health department and successfully treated.

However, it is widely believed that the actual number of cases is much higher compared to the official figures as many people could not opt for the costly test.

Ms Khuhro said that the health department had maintained adequate medicine stocks across the province to ensure rapid treatment availability.

When she claimed that no death due to chikungunya was so far reported in the province, former speaker Agha Siraj Durrani said that it was a very serious disease and a youth in his constituency had died two days ago.

Power utilities under fire

The K-Electric, Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco) came under fire in the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday as Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon suggested to the speaker to summon the heads of electricity distribution companies in the house to ensure the recommendations made by the special committee for resolving the issues of prolonged loadshedding and excessive billing.

In response to a point of order raised by PPP member Fayyaz Ali Butt, the senior minister said that the speaker should issue a ruling to summon the heads of KE, Hesco and Sepco to ensure the implementation of the special committee’s decisions.

The assembly had on Sept 10 established an 11-member special committee of the house to review and assess the performance of the three power utilities.

At the outset of the proceeding, Mr Butt drew the attention of Speaker Syed Awais Shah that the KE was not implementing the decisions taken by the special committee. He complained that the committee had summoned the KE chief in the meeting, but he did not turn up.

Both the speaker and senior minister told Mr Butt that he was the chairman of the special committee and empowered to summon the power utilities’ chief.

The speaker said that the action against the power utilities’ top management would be taken if they did not attend the meetings of the house’s special committee.

Question Hour

Furnishing a statement and replies of the lawmakers’ written and verbal queries in Question Hour, Excise Minister Sharjeel Memon said that the provincial government had imposed a ban on the operation Qingqi rickshaws as they were causing traffic congestion, especially in Karachi and other cities in the province.

However, he said, the rickshaw operators’ association took the matter to the court which granted a stay order.

The minister said that the Qingqi rickshaws were a big challenge for the smooth traffic flow as they had limited speed which slowed down the vehicular traffic.

He said that the government had already shifted all intercity bus terminals from the city to Sohrab Goth to ease the traffic situation in the city.

Replying to a question he said that only certified charitable organisations qualified for tax exemptions and said that no tax exempted vehicles of charitable organisation was being used for personal purposes as it could lead to confiscation of the vehicle.

He said that the department was set to introduce a cashless system for the registration of the vehicles and those unfamiliar with online processes would only be able to obtain challans from the excise office and deposit them at a bank.

The house was later adjourned to Friday (tomorrow) at 10am.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2024