Atiqul Islam apologises to families of deceased dengue patients

Atiqul Islam, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor, has asked for forgiveness to the families that have lost dear ones to dengue fever during the ongoing outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease. He was speaking at a press conference at Nagar Bhaban in the city on Wednesday.

“I am asking for forgiveness to the families of the deceased dengue patients. I am also expressing my earnest grief at the loss of their lives,” the mayor said at the conference. 

The two Dhaka city corporation authorities (Dhaka North and Dhaka South) have been criticized, from time to time, for using insecticides with questionable effectiveness to kill Aedes mosquitoes, the carrier of dengue virus. On July 25, the High Court directed the chief health officers of the two city corporations to import new and effective insecticides before July 30.

Mayor Atiqul Islam confirmed at the press conference that, as per the HC directive, the Dhaka city corporation authorities already imported new insecticides from China to kill mosquitoes. 

“We have taken extensive measures to control spread of mosquitoes within and across the city. We are the country’s first city corporation to import insecticides with the license of our own. The shipment of insecticide from China already arrived. We will start spraying the imported insecticide in different wards in the city very soon,” he concluded. 

Shipment of two different types of insecticides of Nanjing Ecofarm Biotechnology of China arrived on Tuesday. The imported insecticides have been tested for effectiveness at Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research (IEDCR) in Mohakhali in the city.