Dhaka grappling with worst dengue outbreak due to gross failure of two mayors: BNP

Blaming the gross failures of the mayors of two Dhaka city corporations for the worst dengue outbreak in the capital, BNP on Friday announced a four-point programme to stand by the dengue patients and create public awareness.

Tabith Awal and Ishraque Hossain, the two BNP nominated mayoral candidates in the last elections to the Dhaka north and south city corporations respectively, announced the programmes highlighting the causes of the awful dengue situation in the capital at a press conference at the party’s Nayaplatan central office, reports UNB.

As part of the programmes, they said they will initiate a blood collection drive encouraging the party men to donate blood and encourage others to do that as the blood banks in the city are struggling to meet the demand, and people are crying for blood on social media for the dengue patients.

Besides, the party will also launch an online centralized ‍‍`Blood Information Depository‍‍` website to connect the needy and the donors and the service will continue as long as the dengue situation persists.

The party will also conduct a public awareness campaign through leaflets and posters at the ward level to eradicate Aedes larvae to get rid of dengue.

“Dengue was under control until 2010-11, but now it has become devastating, thanks to the last few years of misgovernance and negligence. The city has turned into a sanctuary for Aedes mosquitoes. The city of possibilities, with all its citizens full of life, is now in constant fear of death from mosquito bites,” Tabith said.

Ishraq, the eldest son of the former mayor of the undivided Dhaka City corporation, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, said the dengue has turned epidemic and terrible in the capital due to the failure of the mayors of two cities in Dhaka. “This situation has been created due to lack of their accountability to the people.”

He said the overall failure to prevent pollution and create effective waste management is one of the reasons for deteriorating the dengue situation to the current level.

Ishraq alleged that the mayors of the two city corporations have failed to appoint "adequate entomologists in proportion to the size of the cities and their population.

Both Tabith and Ishraq demanded the resignation of the two mayors of the Dhaka city corporations for their failure to tackle the dengue situation.