Dengue scares citizens to avoid visiting parks

RAWALPINDI: With the increasing number of dengue fever cases, almost all parks of the city are fast losing its visitors, especially morning and evening joggers, as jogging tracks are nowadays giving a deserted look.

The regular visitors have ceased to visit city parks in order to avoid being biten by dengue mosquitoes. Despite the fact that the city district government on the instructions of Punjab government is making all out efforts, including spraying and fogging nook and corner of the city to control the dengue virus from spreading, but the regular visitors have discontinued their visits.

Though, it is very difficult for the regular visitors to change their habits but in dengue's case people have changed their old habits of frequenting parks in morning and evening.

Zafar, a resident of Peoples Colony Tench Bhatta, told APP that except various catastrophes, dengue had completely changed the people's lifestyle. "We used to go to the parks in morning and evening to freshen up and recharge ourselves to remain healthy. We also used to jog and enjoy," he said and added that the dengue virushad changed all such practices.

Aftab, a regular jogger at Race Course Park, said that the morning walk introduces to visitors a world embellished with the emerging sun, peace and tranquility, tweeting of birds, lush green landscape, gorgeous flowers and splendid trees. But he regretted that he was now missing this because of dengue fear.

A visitor of Nawaz Sharif Park at Shamasabad, Nadeem, said he had never seen fumigation being done. He said the park had become a haven for mosquitoes. He said that the children and the elderly, who visited the park, were most vulnerable to the virus the mosquitoes carried.

"Parks were usually crowded with visitors in morning and evening, but now their number has considerably decreased," he added. However, he said that parks were not wearing a deserted look and still people liked to visit the parks.

A survey revealed that number of visitors number had decreased considerably. Though parks were not totally empty but the dengue virus had scared away some visitors.

According to the health experts the dengue's active time was 5 am to 7am and 6 pm to 7pm.

Citizens have demanded to the authorities concerned to pay heed towards parks as according to them the administration had failed to fumigate a number of residential areas as well as public places such as parks to kill these mosquitoes.

"It seems they are depending on change of season to kill the mosquitoes that cause diseases like malaria and dengue," Nadeem added.