With dengue threatening to assume dangerous proposition in the provisional state capital and nearby areas, the education department seems oblivious of the danger of the lurking mosquitoes faced by the students. Tiger mosquito (Aedes Aezypti) the vector of the disease strikes during the daytime when the students are in the schools. Apart from being active during daytime the Tiger mosquito targets the exposed body parts like hands, legs and neck.
What is alarming for the parents that the district education department has not issued a circular to the schools asking them to ensure that the students wear full sleeved cloths to minimize chances of mosquito bite.
It is worth mentioning here that 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. In absence of any directive from government, the students in most of the schools are wearing summer uniform which makes them easy targets of Tiger mosquito.
What is worrying that the majority of the dengue cases are being reported in the Raipur area of the city that houses majority of the popular private schools of Dehradun. Dalanwala area in Raipur 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 Col Browns Cambridge to name a few.
The district vector borne diseases officer, Subhash Joshi said that since Tiger mosquito bites during the day time and the children wearing half shirts, shorts and skirts in the schools are easy prey to these lurking insects responsible for Dengue. He added that people should not allow the water to get collected inside and near their houses.
The medical experts are of the opinion that the schools should compulsorily undertake fumigation in their campus to smoke out mosquitoes from their campus. They said that the schools should be compulsorily asked to enforce a dress code which prohibits wearing short sleeved shirts and shorts during this period of the year when dengue menace is at its highest.
When contacted, the Chief Education Officer (CEO) of Dehradun, Asha Rani Painyuli said that the department had issued necessary guidelines on Dengue and other diseases in month of June itself. She added that the directive to wear full sleeved clothes would be released soon.