|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
   |
virus MOOD
STREET Town Talk law Ignorance
not a bliss RESPONSES
TO LAST WEEK'S
virus Breeding awareness Hospitals in Lahore received more than 40 patients who have been diagnosed dengue virus positive during the last one week By Aoun Sahi At a time of the year when parks and other open spaces of Lahore are normally crowded with people, enjoying the pleasant weather, many are opting to stay home. It is due to fear of the black and white striped Aedes Aegypti mosquito responsible for spreading dengue fever. The fears of Lahoris are not unrealistic. During the last
one week more than 40 patients of fever, including renowned writer Intizar
Hussain, have been diagnosed dengue virus positive in public and The Aegypti mosquito is said to be prevalent in Karachi since 1994, when the first case of dengue was reported and confirmed. In Lahore the first case of dengue fever was found in October last year. Health officials believe that the virus in Lahore is coming from Karachi. "Over eid thousands of people, including many from Karachi, came to Lahore. There is a possibility that the fever spread from some of those carrying the virus," says Executive District Officer (Health) Lahore Dr Inamul Haq. He tells TNS that majority of patients belong to areas like Sanda, Sant Nagar, Misri Shah and Gulshan Ravi. According to him the best cure to this disease is care. "We have divided the area in 10 zones, and teams made to cover each zone for fumigation," he says. According to him main hospitals of the city such as Sir Ganga Ram, Mayo, Sheikh Zayed, have the facility to test the dengue virus. "So far no vaccine of this virus has been discovered," he says. He says government is going to set up a separate ward in Railway Caren Hospital. "Doctors should be deputed on railway station and any passenger having fever or flue should be tested at the spot and if doctors on duty further check up these patients, they will be referred to that special ward." All the trains coming from Karachi to Lahore will be fumigated before the passengers or goods are allowed to enter Lahore.
But officials of Anti-Malaria Department of CDGL say that the department is incapable of launching a comprehensive campaign. "We have to cover a huge area but surprisingly there are only two fumigation inspectors in 11 towns of the city," says an official on condition of anonymity. According to him more than 30 inspectors are required to carry out fumigation campaign smoothly in the city. "Otherwise you cannot get desired results." He says there are 90 drains in city which are 470 miles in length but to cover such a huge mosquito hatchery, the department only has 13 fumigation machines and no vehicles. "Total strength of department at present is 130 which needs to increase at least threefold." City District Government Chief, malaria inspector Syed Munir Hussain Rizvi, however, says they are also asking people to spray insecticides in their houses, drain out the stagnant water or pour a layer of kerosene over the surface of the water. "This is the best way to avoid mosquito that carry dengue virus." Residents of Lahore think that authorities are not doing enough to control the disease. "The doctors are not providing proper care nor are any medicines available here," says a dengue patient at Sir Ganga Ram hospital. Many others say they are being forced to get tests for
dengue done from various private laboratories Amjad Ali, a 33 year old resident of the walled city, was suffering from high fever when he went to a government hospital a few days ago. "When I told them that I feared I might have dengue fever, they said they do not have the kit to test it and he'd better go to a private laboratory. It cost me around Rs 1200," he tells TNS. District Health Officer Headquarters Dr Muhammad Hanif does not think that health authorities are not making enough arrangements to check the dengue virus spread. According to him situation in Lahore is under control and there is neither any serious patient of dengue fever nor any casualty anywhere in the city or province. "It is true that at present we have some patients admitted in different hospitals but they are gradually being discharged from hospitals after recovery." The health department may be taking some kind of action at least at Lahore district level but it has been learnt that health authorities have not made any special arrangements in District Head Quarters. Tehsil Head Quarter hospitals, Basic Health Units or Rural Health Units have also not provided any kind of medicines to control these or they do not have necessary equipment to test dengue virus in different districts of the province. Fumigation has also not been carried out in any district other than Lahore. Fact sheet Dengue is caused by a virus borne by the Aedes mosquito. The disease is also called yellow fever, or break-bone disease, as it causes extreme pain in the body accompanied by high grade fever. It is an acute febrile (fever) disease and is found in the tropics, with a geographical spread similar to malaria. The dengue mosquito breeds in clean water puddles, like water tanks, indoor plant pots, or water stored in any other container that is not covered, and left standing for as long as two days. A conducive breeding time for the mosquito is after rainfall. -- A S Official version Provincial health minister Punjab Health Minister Ch Muhammad Iqbal does not agree with the reports appearing in the press. He says the government is making sure that necessary medicines are available at all government teaching hospitals, district headquarters hospitals and tehsil headquarters hospitals throughout the province. To get the complete data of patients in the province, he says, a modern reporting system has been set up at Institute of Public Health and arrangements are being made for a good education and awareness system. "Government is also encouraging the private sector and NGOs to conduct awareness seminars and symposiums," he adds. He also tells TNS that the Health Services director has been appointed as the main person who will be responsible for liaison with all medical superintendents of public hospitals and health EDOs of all districts. He says they have already directed District governments throughout the province to carry out extensive fumigation campaign in their respective areas. "Many of them have already started it." -- A Sahi Happiness is strictly forbidden in here By Aziz Omar What is it about the workplace that renders one completely lifeless and gloomy? It is like an energy sucking black hole, being exacting in having the assigned tasks completed. Mostly all offices create a
sub-world within them that seems to be completely cut-off from the vibrant
reality that exists outside their confines. The employees are mere extensions
of their workstations, expectantly gazing at the clock face from time to time
as if attempting to mentally force the hands ahead. They may often find
themselves staring at the calendar, counting down the As if being a pen pusher was not sorry enough, the age of technology has added an element of being literally a key-pusher. The drudgery of work has been standardised by the persistent click clacking of keystrokes. The promise of providing a lifeline to the world that internet brought along is the target of constant curbs by the designated IT department. Net guardian software, port and IP address blocking and denying administrative rights on a computer system are the usual fun and relief zapping measures. However, the rebel techno savvy lot amongst staff members has proved that there are indeed silver linings to the clouds of despair that are a hallmark of work environments. With the aid of proxy websites and firewall tunneling tricks, they try to bring in that much needed ray of light in to the dismal underworld. They say that one-third of you life is spent in dozing off and escaping in the fantasy realms of dream consciousness. For some it is a waste of time and they try to cut back as much as they can. Hell, I say that in many cases, a quality shuteye is far more productive than the other one-third that is spent in the company's quarters. What with the zombie like state in which you drift through the maze-like office complex and fix yourself like a cog in your target work area. E-mail notifications and ringer buzzes on your extension that jerk you out of your stupor, as if bringing an age-old machine to life. Your vacuous mind desperately tries to make sense of the demands and orders being conveyed to you and your tongue writhes about while attempting to mutter some sensible reply. Afterwards, you try to strain your brain in recalling what you just promised to deliver and what excuses you can use later to cover up any oversight while still displaying efficiency. "Yes sir, you see what happened was that I was gathering more relevant details regarding this issue, for which I am relying on outside sources who will be getting back to me. As soon as I have that information, I shall incorporate it into our existing strategy to further fine tune it." If fortune favours, one might get a chance to get to know that new girl who joined the marketing department. All his colleagues would start to see him in a new light. He would be like, "yaar tumhari us nai larki se baat hoi hai" and the others would be like, "nahin yaar, hamari kahan aisi kismet". Another develops a slight fancy for the svelte and charming receptionist and finds every excuse while entering or leaving to linger around her desk and make idle talk. Ahh yes, such are the petty forms of happiness in the microcosm that is the office. In here the more you let the happiness spread, the less there is for you. You spend every moment pinning and searching for one little bit of joy, just a smidgen of delight. And so whenever and wherever one finds it, one holds on to it like a contraband drug and hopes that one has enough to sustain for yet another work cycle. Town Talk • 1st Asian Sports Gala from 10 to 19 Nov 2007 at Alhamra -- Gadaffi Stadium. • Festival Iqbal Day on 09 Nov 2007 at Alhamra Arts Council -- The Mall. • Linear Expressionism Farrukh Shahab from 04 to 10 Nov 2007 at Croweaters Gallery. • Exhibition of Akhter Mammunka from 04 to 05 Nov 2007 at Hamail Art Galleries - Gulberg. • 'Interpolation' 4th solo exhibition of Mixed Media and Etchings by Muhammad Atif Khan on 07 Nov 2007 at Rohtas Gallery. • British Council Training What Leaders Do on 07 Nov 2007 at Pearl Continental Hotel • Exhibition By Ajaz Anwar from 04 to 06 Nov 2007 at Government College University. • LEAF Sing-Along-Kaafi on 06 Nov 2007 at Alhamra Gadaffi Stadium • Dance Rab Raka from 04 to 10 Nov 2007 at Alhamra - Gadaffi Stadium law Partial cleanup In the first phase encroachments like kiosks, carts, wooden planks and roadside stalls have been removed from around 'protected' historical structures. The real test will be the second phase By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed After decades of negligence, the relevant government authorities seem to have come out of their slumber. In an unprecedented move, the teams of Ravi Town and Shalimar Town administrations in Lahore district were seen demolishing encroachments within their respective jurisdictions. The cleanup operation was
mainly conducted around buildings and structures declared 'protected' Like many other laws of the land, these two had been the most flouted ones in the country. The impunity with which the encroachers settled in buffer zones and the inaction of the relevant authorities against them always gave an impression that these laws were no longer in place. The result was that all the special premises including heritage sites were surrounded by squatters and the buildings started losing their glory. Be it the Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens, tombs of Emperor Jehangir and Empress Nur Jehan or any the historic place inside the Walled City, the illegal squatters were everywhere with structures built right next to the boundary walls. All this had been going on right under the nose of the federal and Punjab Archaeology departments for long. For decades, the two departments had done nothing concrete to stop this trend. The question arises as to how is a massive crackdown launched in the presence of stiff resistance and strong mafias. Talking to TNS on conditions of anonymity a district government official says this daring initiative was not possible without the support of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. On August 6, 2007, a two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice M. Javed Buttar had ordered the chief secretary of Punjab and the DCO Lahore to submit a detailed report in November, 2007 informing the court that historical monuments had been cleared of all kinds of encroachments. The official says it's not true that the local authorities had not tried to remove encroachments from these places. "Every time we launched a drive we had to face resistance from the highest level. The politicians contesting elections from these areas have been against the removal of these encroachments. They were more interested in keeping their vote banks intact than the beauty and glory of historical places," he says. Jameel Sheikh, a shopkeeper in Delhi Gate, says it is injustice of the highest order to deprive people of their livelihood. He tells TNS that most of the owners of kiosks, wooden planks and stalls had not encroached upon this land themselves. In fact they had bought these spaces from others and had no idea about them being illegal. "I would request the government to make compensation to the displaced people so that they can do some other business and earn bread and butter for their families." Town Officer (Regulation), Ravi Town Malik Tariq tells TNS that in the first phase only kiosks, carts, wooden planks and roadside stalls have been removed. All of these were illegal, so payment of compensation to their owners is a remote chance. The areas and places where the operation was carried out included Lahore Fort, Jehangir's Tomb, Nur Jehan's Tomb, Delhi Gate, Lohari Gate, Bhatti Gate, Sheranwala Gate and Kashmiri Gate. In the second phase, he says, an operation cleanup will be launched against shops, markets and dwellings constructed within the buffer zone. For example, he says, the popular rim market right next to the boundary wall of Lahore Fort faces demolition. Tariq says the Punjab Archaeology Department has already issued notices to encroachers in this regard. "The town administration will launch its operation the very day it is asked to do so," he adds. Town Officer (Regulation) Shalimar Town, Shehzad Qureshi says his town's administration has also carried out an operation against encroachments. The areas from where encroachments have been removed include Samadhi of Maharaja Shamshair Singh and Samad Tomb in Begum Pura. He tells TNS that the Punjab Archaeology Department and Board of Revenue have marked more than 100 houses around Shalimar Gardens that need to be demolished. The notices have always been served, he says, adding "the wait is for the policy on compensations for the dwellers to be formulated and passed." Shehzad says once that happens a systematic operation will be started in the area. According to the proposed plan, he says first of all estimates of compensation for the owners of these houses will be made. No house will be demolished without the payment of compensation amount, he adds. Talib Hussain, Deputy Director (Survey), Punjab Archeology Department tells TNS that Punjab government has allocated Rs 300 million for the renovation of Shalimar Gardens. The compensation to the owners of houses facing demolition, around this monument, will be made from this amount. Ignorance not a bliss Pakistan's male drug problem might be well documented, but little is being said and done about female-drug addicts By Amna Nasir Malik Jamal Pakistan is placed among those nations which have a very high number of drug addicts. Though information on
women's drug use is limited, the truth is that drug addiction has increased
steadily among girls and women and, in the case of certain drugs, more
rapidly than among boys and Worth noticing is narcotics has reached educational institutions. There have been reports of female students taking Hash in toilets.Recently a headmistress of one girls college expelled a group of girls for possessing and using narcotics in the premises. A woman's addiction to alcohol, pills and other narcotics has long been a taboo subject. One that garners a few smirks and rarely taken seriously. However, the problem of drug addiction among women cannot be separated from other aspects of their social conditioning. The typical focus on individual pathology may exclude social factors, such as racism, sexism and poverty that are essential to an understanding of drug abuse in women and teenage girls. They are more likely than boys to abuse substances in order to lose weight, relieve stress or boredom, improve their mood, reduce sexual inhibitions, self-medicate depression, and increase confidence. The extent of drug use among women, the causes of addiction, and its effect on women's lives and bodies are not fully understood because addiction has traditionally been treated as a male disease. Studies of women who seek treatment for alcohol and other drug problems have revealed a dramatic connection between domestic violence, childhood abuse and substance abuse. Women substance abusers have high levels of depression, anxiety, and feelings of powerlessness, and low levels of self-esteem and self-confidence. Research indicates that up to 70 per cent of drug abusing women report histories of physical and sexual abuse. They reported that their drug-using partners initiated them into drug abuse. In addition, research indicates that drug-dependent women have great difficulty abstaining from drugs, when the lifestyle of their partner is one that supports drug use. "I was physically, mentally, verbally and financially abused," said one woman addict, around 42 years old and who did not remember her name. "I don't know why I didn't realize it. I loved my family so much. They were supportive for me. They were there for me, but I didn't deserve what my husband put me through." The reliable data also indicate that women are far more likely than men to report a parental history of alcohol and drug abuse. The study showed that teenagers who know their parents once used marijuana or any other drug and whose parents directly or implicitly communicate that marijuana is relatively harmless are at greater risk of using drugs. Lately there has been a surge of criminal activity where women are involved. For women, the pathway to crime is usually trauma, and then addiction to deal with the trauma as a way of self-medication. Then they get into criminal lifestyles to support their addictions. In Punjab, there are 32 jails and the total number of female cells is 737. According to a reliable source under prohibition of enforcement of Hadd and control of narcotics substance act 1997, the total number of women under trial are 142 and 84 out of them are convicted. Though infinite socio-economic factors led women into drug abuse and drug trafficking, they are also responsible for inventing novel methodologies to transport drugs. Two recent cases busted by the personnel of Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) were, Two Azerbaijan ladies, clad in Arabian dress were caught by ANF Punjab staff carrying artificial jewellery in large quantity and weight. The search led to the recovery of heroin skillfully concealed in necklaces and earrings.The other was a Guinean lady caught red handed and heroin recovered from her luggage tactfully concealed in hair clips. According to the force commander, ANF Punjab, Brig. Babur Idris, "We are living in a country where drug abuse has been allowed to eat away like a cancer at the heart of our society. The youth of today are presenting a pathetic sight. Greater attention is being paid to create awareness among the people about the dangers of drug abuse and the ways to avoid it. Country wide phenomenon portray that heroin addiction is significantly decreased but it doesn't mean that addiction has reduced "Traditional addiction has changed and introduced new trends like psychotropic substances (more life threatening), sheesha, cough syrups (manufacturing is easy to do) etc. Especially, rapid increase in sheesha smoking (consequence of false propaganda) is spreading like a fire in the forest, especially in major cities of Pakistan having grave health consequences. Cocaine and Ecstasy is common among young adults aged 16-21 who belong to the upper class." Brig. Idris also said, "Today drug addiction is a problem pertaining to women, especially young girls belonging to nice backgrounds. It is important that women have the knowledge and skills to be a positive force in attacking this problem, especially in drug prevention. It is demand of the time that all sections of society to put their efforts together for the eradication of drugs from our society. But for complete eradication, systematic education and constant support from the community must be provided at all times. It is imperative that relevant government agencies chalk out and implement awareness programmes 'effectively and intelligently' this would lead to a better and prosperous future for each member of the society.". Worth noticing is many of these woman refuse to go into drug rehabilitation programs. They are outpatients because of the shame and stigma attached to substance dependence and addiction. They cannot stay in rehabilitation centers for cultural reasons and only go for medicine and advice. Experts say the barriers to treatment for women must be addressed because most programs are based on male-oriented models that are not geared to the needs of women. The need of the time is programs must be designed to overcome the current barriers to women's access to and participation in treatment. RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK'S QUESTION TOP 10
Quotes
1. Aithay koi ik syapa aey! 2.Tu lang ja saddi kher aey. 3. Maa ki dua... Jaa bachay Rikshaw chala. 4. Kher naal aa tey kher naal ja. 5. Akal nai tay mujaan ee mujaan ...jay akal aey tay socha ee socha 6.Teri akh bari mastani. 7. Mehnat kar hasad na kar/ Jalnay walay ka mou kala. 8.Malangni Data di. 9. Tammana hum bhi rakhtay hai! agar tu car rakhti hai tu rikshaw hum bhi rakhtay hai. 10. President ki Rozgar scheme.
|
|
semi-public
hospitals of Lahore.
According to him City District Government Lahore (CDGL)
has formed 10 teams headed by Epidemiology Control Officer. "These teams
are also conducting routine fumigation in 10 out of 150 Union Councils of the
city on daily basis, the process will go on for at least a month in the
city," he adds.
in Lahore, as most public
sector hospitals do not have the kit for the tests. Those who have given
blood samples for testing in public hospitals say they are not getting
results even after several days.
days to the next
weekend. They survive the days by living from tea break to tea break with
lunch and a soota break thrown in the middle.
under
the Federal Antiquities Act 1975 and The Punjab Special Premises
(Preservation) Ordinance, 1985. Both the laws call for maintenance of a
buffer zone measuring 200 feet from such premises and disapprove construction
of any type within this area.
men.
