PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 17 -- Dengue cases are rising rapidly across the city, with local hospitals reporting a steady increase in admissions. Pathology laboratories are experiencing a significant workload, processing over 100 samples daily to keep pace with the spike in testing requests, said officials. At Tej Bahadur Sapru (Beli) Hospital, 11 patients were admitted on Thursday. Medical superintendent Dr Prashant Pandey stated that most patients presenting with fever symptoms are being screened for the virus, noting that the infection is affecting residents across all socio-economic backgrounds, including those in well-maintained neighborhoods. Similarly, Swarup Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital reported seven admissions in its dengue ward, with many patients in the outpatient department also being advised to undergo testing. Residents from various localities complained that anti-larval spraying and fogging drives were irregular or ineffective. They alleged that stagnant water continued to accumulate in pits and vacant spaces outside homes, creating ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes. Official records show that over the past 10 months, a total of 124 dengue cases were reported in the district and the district malaria department carried out preventive measures in these cases, including 96 in urban areas and 28 in rural parts of the district. As per protocol, whenever a dengue case is detected, teams from the malaria department and municipal corporation undertake fogging, anti-larval spraying and sanitation work in nearly 50 houses surrounding the patient's residence. In rural areas, similar action is taken by block-level authorities. The highest number of dengue cases within city limits has been reported from Chota Bagha, Teliyarganj, Salori, Govindpur, Khuldabad and Rajapur. Municipal corporation teams are currently conducting routine fogging and anti-larval spraying across all 100 wards of the city. Chief medical officer Dr AK Tiwari said that more than a dozen dengue patients had been admitted to hospitals over the past two weeks. He added that dedicated beds have been reserved for dengue patients in both urban and rural healthcare facilities while anti-larval drives are being carried out regularly to curb the spread of the disease....