No need to spray ineffective insecticide: Quader

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today asked the authorities concerned to refrain from spraying ineffective mosquito medicines.

"Effective insecticide will arrive in Dhaka within two to four days and during this period there's no need to spray ineffective medicine to show off," he said after attending a cleanliness drive in city's Mirpur Mazar road area.

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital, has been at the centre of the dengue outbreak. The mosquito-borne disease has so far claimed 23 lives, according to government data but unofficial estimates suggest the death toll is much higher.

Dhaka's city corporations have been criticised for their failure to eliminate mosquitoes responsible for dengue.

A total of 2,348 people were infected with the mosquito-borne disease in 24 hours until Tuesday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. Of them, 1,284 cases were reported from the capital. Five of them were suffering from dengue hemorrhagic while another from dengue shock syndrome.

Since the beginning of this year, 29,912 dengue patients were hospitalised.

Dengue cases continue to be reported from across the country and it is feared that the number of patients may increase as people travel to their village homes from Dhaka during the upcoming vacation of Eid-ul-Azha, slated to be celebrated on Aug 12.