Minister appreciates progress of Dengue Control Week
by Ananda KANNANGARA
Education Minister Bandula Gunawardane highlighted the progress of
the `National Dengue Control Week' which concluded last Wednesday and
said that the school authorities and children must take action to clean
their school compounds almost daily to eliminate dengue mosquito
breeding places.
While thanking principals, teachers and students of all Government
schools for doing their utmost towards last week's dengue eradication
program, the Minister focused attention on 50 percent of the schools
which have been identified by area health inspectors as high risk
mosquito breeding places.
It is reported that over 7,500 schools were inspected during the
`National Dengue Control Week' that concluded on October 13. According
to the Health Department nearly 300,000 school compounds, houses,
gardens, agricultural lands and other public and private places were
inspected by health officials during the National Dengue Control Week.
During the seven days, the health authorities had warned over 9,000
persons who had ignored the Health Department's request, to clean their
premises within two weeks and avoid legal action. Minister Gunawardane
told the Sunday Observer that children must consider this program as a
national need.
The Minister also thanked the heads of several schools in Colombo,
Galle and Kandy for the encouragement given to their students to
maintain clean and tidy school gardens. The health inspectors had also
issued notices on nearly 400 school authorities for not taking measures
to clean their school compounds and destroy mosquito breeding places.
He said special mosquito eradication programs would also be conducted
in schools in the North since statistics reveal that the school going
population in the North has increased.
|