Blaming the gross failure of the mayors of two Dhaka city corporations for the worst dengue outbreak in the capital, BNP on Friday announced a four-point programme to stand by the dengue patients and create public awareness, reports UNB.

Tabith Awal and Ishraq Hossain, the two BNP nominated mayoral candidates in the last elections to the Dhaka north and south city corporations respectively, announced the programmes highlighting the causes of the awful dengue situation in the capital at a press conference at the party’s Nayaplatan central office.

Besides, the party will also launch an online centralized ‘Blood Information Depository’ website to connect the needy and the donors and the service will continue as long as the dengue situation persists.

The party will also conduct a public awareness campaign through leaflets and posters at the ward level to eradicate Aedes larvae to get rid of dengue.

Besides, BNP together with the people will put pressure on the authorities concerned to identify Aedes mosquito breeding grounds such as government establishments and under-construction buildings and clean them alongside holding protest rallies with the local people to remove waterlogging at every ward.

“We believe that if we can make the people aware enough without scaring them, it will go a long way in fighting Aedes mosquitoes. In this case, we will conduct awareness-raising activities through online and social media as well as direct public awareness,” said Tabith.

He said seasonal dengue has now become a year-round fear due to the continuous negligence of the two Dhaka city corporations.

He said the city authorities should have formulated a coordinated, effective and long-term plan. “But we didn’t see anything of that sort in Dhaka because there were no elected representatives of people. As a result, the people of Dhaka are still at risk of dengue in 2023.”