Dhaka city corporations today promised to the High Court that they will launch a combined operation and increase the dose of medicine to prevent mosquito menace in the capital.

They also said that they already enforced a crash programme to this effect and that the combined operations will be effective to prevent the mosquitoes.

Barrister Taufiq Inam Tipu and Advocate Sayeed Ahmed Raja, the lawyers for Dhaka south and north city corporations respectively, told the court that at least one-month time is needed to import new medicine for resisting the mosquito menace.

They prayed to the court to give three or four days to see the action with the existing medicine and the combined operation for solving the mosquito problem.

Then, the HC bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Md Shohrowardi asked the city corporations to inform this court on next Tuesday on the progress of the effective steps taken.

The bench said the court wants the mosquito menace to be prevented.

The court, however, exonerated the chief health officers of the city corporations from personal appearance before this court.

Earlier in the day, the High Court expressed great concern at the outbreak of dengue fever and wanted to know how the effective medicine for preventing the Aedes mosquitoes can be imported by seven days.

The HC bench passed the order while hearing a suomoto (voluntary) rule on this issue.

The chief health officers of DSCC and DNCC Brigadier General Dr Md Sharif Ahmed and Md Mominur Rahman Mamun appeared before the HC bench today as per its July 22 order.

The court said that the people are frightened due to the dengue fever and the situation has become very alarming.

The number of the dengue-affected people would be higher if all the affected people were admitted into the hospitals.

It also said, "We want the authorities to prevent the mosquito menace and to take effective measures in this regard within a very short time."

On July 22, the High Court summoned the chief health officers of the Dhaka north and south city corporations to appear before it to inform about the steps taken by the corporations to prevent any outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya, and to destroy the breeding grounds of Aedes mosquitoes in the capital.