Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader has called for not making any irresponsible remark on the present dengue situation in the country.
The road transport and bridges minister came up with the call during a press conference at Dhanmandi in the city on Friday a day after health minister Zahid Maleque and Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Sayeed Khokon made 'controversial' remarks on the dengue situation in the country.
"People are feeling anxious and panicky about the dengue situation. In this circumstances, the prime minister has asked all agencies, including the city corporations and the health ministry, to work in an coordinated way," he said.
During this time, Quader also described Maleque and Khokon's remarks on the dengue situation as "personal".
Earlier on Thursday, to describe the magnitude of dengue outbreak, health minister Maleque said that the breeding capacity of Aedes mosquito is like that of Rohingyas in Bangladesh.
The same day, mayor Khokon was in denial about the reported severity of dengue situation in the capital, saying conspirators are spreading rumours about dengue, just the way kidnapping rumours ran rife across the country, according to local media reports.
More than 350,000 people have been affected with dengue, Bangla daily Prothom Alo recently reported citing the data of the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS) and the World Health Organisation.
Mayor Khokon even went so far as to refute the official report, telling the media: "It's not desirable to politicise the mosquito issue. The report is imaginary and misleading."
Dengue outbreaks have gone up in the city since the beginning of last month, leaving at least 20 people dead, though the official records put the casualties only at eight.
