The parents of thousands of students who are studying in some of the renowned schools of the city are unaware of the threat of dengue which is looming over the heads of their wards. The medical health department has reported eight cases of dengue from the Dalanwala locality of the city which houses many of the prominent schools where the students from not only Dehradun, but also other parts of the country study.
Ironically, despite tall claims by the medical health and education departments about the dengue alert issued to the schools, none of the schools located in Dalanwala have received any communication from these departments.
The medical health department has recently reported 18 cases of dengue from the district, out of them eight cases are confined to Dalanwala locality which clearly indicates that the dreaded virus is thriving in the area which is teeming with school kids. The worrying fact is that the Tiger mosquito (Aedes Aezypti) which carries the virus of Dengue strikes in the day time which incidentally is the time when the kids are in school.
The medical health department had recently issued a dengue alert requesting people to wear full sleeve cloths to minimize the chances of mosquito bite, but the students are donning summer uniforms these days which comprises half sleeve shirts, shorts/ skirts which means that the kids are more prone to the mosquito bites. Dalanwala houses top schools like Doon Girls school, Welham Boys school, Welham Girls school, Doon International school, Indian Cambridge School, Sliver Oak School, Brightlands School, Hillgrange school, Summer valley school and Colonel Brown Cambridge to name a few.
When contacted the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr BS Jangpangi said that department is conducting intensive fogging and the special teams have been instructed to visit every doorstep in the affected areas. The District Vector Borne diseases officer, JP Bahuguna confirmed that eight cases are reported from Dalanwala.
He said that four cases are reported from Puran basti area of locality and claimed that a team of health department consisting of 25 members is intensively covering the area and taking precautionary measures to destroy the mosquito larvae. The Chief Education Officer (CEO) of Dehradun SP Khali told The Pioneer that the after receiving alert from health department the respective Block Education Officers (BEO) have been asked to take
precautionary steps to prevent spread of dengue in the schools of their jurisdiction.
This correspondent however did not notice any health department team in Dalanwala during his visit on Tuesday. The Manager administration of prestigious Welham Girls School, Group Captain SK Singh (Rtd) informed The Pioneer that the school has not received any information about dengue from any government department. He, however, added that the school regularly takes measures to control the mosquito menace in the campus.
The administrator of Brooklyn school SJ Singh also confirmed that the no
communication was received by the school about the threat
of dengue.
The administrators of other schools also expressed ignorance about any information or visit of any team of health department as being claimed by the department officials.
The parents, however, are worried over the prospects of sending their kids in the area infested with dengue virus. SP Uniyal father of a class II student of Hillgrange School said that schools and administration should ensure that the kids are safe from dengue threat in
the schools.