RAWALPINDI: The City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) failed to spray anti-dengue medicines at Imambargahs and traditional route of mourning processions despite requests from the management committee of the Ashura procession.

There are more than 1,079 reported cases of dengue in government hospitals and detection of dengue mosquitoes in different parts of the city, therefore inaction by CDGR endangers the health of those participating in Majalis and mourning processions.

A senior official of the CDGR told Dawn that the district coordination officer (DCO) had received letters from the management of Imambargahs for spray of anti-dengue medicines and he had forwarded therequest to the health department for early implementation but no action has been taken so far.

He said there were more than 100 Imambargahs in the Rawal Town area where most dengue patients have come from. He said the health department`s main focus is on fogging in the union councils in and around Faizabad where most PML-N local leaders live.

`The Hindu community also requested the CDGR to spray anti-dengue medicines in their temples before the Diwali festival two weeks ago but its request also fell to deaf ears,` he said.

Ali Hussain, a member of the management committee of mourning processions, told Dawn that the Imambargahs in downtown areas requested the local administration for spray of anti-dengue medicines around the main Imambargahs but again the administration did not pay heed to therequests.

`We ourselves made arrangements for spray but the local administration is not taking the issue seriously,` he said.

Meanwhile, as many as 30 more dengue patients arrived in three government-run hospitals on Monday, increasing the number of patients to 1,079 in the last two months.

Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) received 13 new dengue patients.

`A total of 30 dengue patients were admitted to the hospital,` a senior doctor at BBH said.

`Fourteen more dengue patients were brought to Holy Family Hospital (HFH). As many as 63 dengue patients are admitted to the hospital,` said a senior official of HFH.

Three dengue patients arrived in District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital apart from the eight patients already there.