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2011-10-19 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

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Posted by Fred 2011-10-19 00:00|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top
File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1 Is this unusual for the area? Related to the massive flooding (floods equal mosquitos equal mosquito-borne disease?) Or environmental fear of mosquito control? Or economic inability to control pests of all types? Or because Mo' didn't fight dengue, nobody should?

Posted by Glenmore 2011-10-19 07:56|| 2011-10-19 07:56|| Front Page Top

#2 Dengue is not unusual. The ineptitude and corruption of the Pak government's "public health" program is.

Posted by Fred 2011-10-19 10:40|| 2011-10-19 10:40|| Front Page Top

#3 Pakistan has been hit with several years in a row of very heavy rains. But that's not the whole story.

Lahore is a large and ancient city, very near the border with India. It was the capitol of the kingdom of Punjab, and of others before that, well before the Moghuls conquered it in the early 11th century. It is strongly multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, has a lively arts community etc. Most of the books published in Pakistan are published in Lahore. It was run by the Sikhs for centuries - and their main temple complex at Amritsar is close by.

In other words, the Pure in Islamabad detest it, fear it and scorn it. They also can't do much about it, given that it is the second largest city in the country, over 12 million inhabitants by some estimates.

But they can make sure that civil infrastructure never quite gets the investment and attention it needs, surrounded as it is by multiple rivers into which flow the rains from major storms, the ice melt from the mountains etc. And that medical supplies often end up elsewhere.

That the minority groups find it hard to get any but the worst jobs or to live in cleaner neighborhoods goes without saying. So when dengue hits, that's who it hits.

Posted by lotp 2011-10-19 11:26|| 2011-10-19 11:26|| Front Page Top

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