Moalims

JHELUM: Around 40 schoolgirls were rushed to a hospital after a false rumour spread that spurious anti-dengue spray was being used at their school in Jhelum.

Initial media reports suggested that some students fainted due to anti-dengue spray at Government Girls High School, Civil Lines, Jhelum.

The district administration later clarified that no fumigation was carried out at the school, and that the fumes were smoke from a nearby dump. The administration said that panic spread among students after a girl threw up and an ambulance was called in.

A statement issued by Jhelum ADC Imran Raz Abbasi said no student had fainted. It said the rumours started after a student threw up.

He denied reports of insect repellent spray at the school, saying mosquito season had not begun yet. He said District Coordination Officer Iqbal Hussain Khan had constituted a committee to probe the incident.

Around 100 schoolgirls had fainted due to the use of spurious anti-dengue spray in the Domeli area of Jhelum last September.

Abbasi said that after the Domeli incident, all education institutes had been directed to strictly follow guidelines for anti-mosquito spray at the campuses.

He said the matriculation exams had not been cancelled and that all the students of the school sat the exam on Tuesday.

Jhelum District Headquarters Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Shaukat Mehmood said that 40 students brought to the hospital due to panic and fear. He said no student had fainted or suffered from anti-dengue spray. All 40 have been discharged.

School principal Safia Cheema said no anti-dengue spray was carried out in the school. She said a student felt suffocated due to smoke emitting from garbage dump near the school, which spread panic among others.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered School Education Minister Rana Mashhood and education and health secretaries to probe the incident and submit a report. The three officials visited the district headquarters on Tuesday evening where they were briefed about the situation. Local MPs of the ruling party also visited the hospital.

Use of expired mosquito repellents banned

Meanwhile, the education and health departments in Rawalpindi have imposed a ban on using expired mosquito repellents at schools and other public places. The decision was taken after Saturday’s incident in Jhelum.

Sources said the district health department has over 6,000 kg of expired imported insect repellents.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2016.