BY: Hurish Shah:
ISLAMABAD–President All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran and Traders Action Committee Islamabad Ajmal Baloch, along with Secretary and Chairman Traders and Market Development Committee ICCI Khalid Chaudhry and General Secretary Aabpara Market Akhtar Abbasi, have demanded immediate anti-dengue spray across Islamabad, stating that the district administration has imposed fines worth crores of rupees on traders in the name of dengue prevention, but no effective spraying campaign has been launched so far.
Ajmal Baloch and Khalid Chaudhry questioned whether dengue mosquitoes exist only in shops, saying that residential areas of Islamabad must also be included in the anti-dengue campaign.
They alleged that around 300 people were presented before a magistrate’s court last Sunday, but neither the magistrate nor the Assistant Commissioner was present. They further claimed that police officials collected Rs10,000 from each person without issuing receipts.
The traders’ leaders demanded that anti-dengue spray should be carried out in markets from where significant revenue is collected. They said that instead of raiding shops over shopping bags, action should be taken against the manufacturing factories producing such bags, as the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Ajmal Baloch appealed to Chief Commissioner Islamabad Sohail Ashraf to stop harassment of traders and ensure a fair and transparent system.
