Tuesday 13th June, 2023

There has been a steep rise in the incidence of dengue of late with the number of cases reported from all parts of the country rising to about 2,500 a week, according to the Government Medical Officers’ Association. The Western Province, the worst-affected area, accounts for the majority of the dengue cases. More worryingly, about 25 percent of dengue patients are schoolchildren! There is reason to believe that they are exposed to mosquito bites in school, and hence the need to intensify school-based mosquito eradication programmes.

Warm weather usually spurs the growth of mosquito larvae. Given the current weather patterns, a further rise in the occurrence of dengue is to be expected. Dengue outbreaks are reported even from countries like Singapore, where stringent measures are adopted to prevent the disease. Such being the resilience of the dengue virus, an all-out effort to curb its spread is the key.

Parents used to guard schools against the Tigers about one and a half decades ago. Thankfully, the scourge of Tiger terror is a thing of the past, but the hapless parents are far from relieved; they now have to gather in schools to protect their precious ones against ‘Tiger’ mosquitoes, which spread dengue. Teachers’ trade unions have faulted the government for palming off the responsibility for fighting dengue in schools to parents and teachers. This allegation is not without any truth in it, but the task of making schools dengue-free should not be left entirely to the government. What matters most in the final analysis is the safety of children, and therefore everyone is duty bound to put his or her shoulder to the wheel to ensure that schools are safe.

The public evinces an interest in eradicating mosquito breeding places from time to time, but their efforts are not organised, much less focused, owing to lack of proper coordination and direction. The past few days have seen parents and teachers cleaning schools. These efforts have to be sustained throughout the year, albeit at varying degrees of intensity, depending on the incidence of dengue.

All efforts to control dengue will be in vain unless the local government institutions and other state outfits are made to get their act together. Complaints abound that the wayside drains in urban areas have become mosquito breeding grounds. Health authorities have said mosquito larvae are mostly found at state institutions and in public places, and therefore the success of any dengue control programme will hinge on the elimination of such mosquito breeding sites.

There are countless civil organisations and political parties in this country and their potential to mobilise the people to curb the spread of dengue and other such diseases has not been tapped. Let them be urged to come forward to destroy mosquito breeding sites and save lives. Flash mobs have become the order of the day with people who share common interests, purposes and goals organising and mobilising themselves via social media to achieve various goals. They were instrumental in launching Aragalaya last year. Given the sheer number of social media activists and other netizens in this country, it will not be difficult to organise an effective countrywide anti-dengue campaign.

Arrest them!

The BIA management claims to have taken action to prevent unauthorised persons from buying foreign currency from passengers within the airport premises. It has done so in response to media reports about a forex racket that had gone on for a long time under its nose. The declaration of the BIA out of bounds for such elements should be appreciated, but what action has been taken against those who were caught on camera buying foreign currency inside the BIA at black market prices. They must be traced, arrested and prosecuted.

No unauthorised person can buy foreign currency at the BIA unless he has political connections. It is hoped that the racketeers who have gone into hiding will not crawl out of the woodwork when the issue is forgotten.

Now that the government has had to relax import restrictions due to domestic compulsions and foreign pressure, the rupee is likely to be more vulnerable, and the need for precautions to be taken to prevent a possible tumble of it cannot be overstated. Yesterday, the US dollar appreciated against the rupee. Hence action is necessary to prevent illegal forex trading. Undial and Hawala systems have been in operation despite a ban. This situation has come about because the government has not gone all out to eliminate them. If the state intelligence services are directed to bring those illegal operations to an end with a timeframe set for the task, the banking system will gain tremendously with more forex being channelled through it. There has been no dearth of banned imports, except vehicles, and this is proof that foreign currency has flowed out of the country through illegal channels. No wonder the government has its work cut out to resolve the forex crisis.