‘Alarming’: Suvendu Adhikari writes to Mandaviya over dengue cases in West Bengal
Dengue cases in West Bengal have shot up alarmingly this year, and a senior official of the state health department said that till date around 50,000 cases have been reported from across the state
West Bengal leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Monday wrote to Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya urging him to dispatch a central team of doctors to the state where dengue cases have shot up to a record high this year.
Taking potshots at the Trinamool Congress-led government, he wrote, “I request you to kind dispatch central team of doctors and public health experts to monitor the situation and guide the state government in this time of distress.”
In the letter tweeted by the BJP legislator, he also alleged that the TMC government in West Bengal was manipulating data on deaths caused by the mosquito-borne disease and urged the central team to scrutinize the data provided by the state.
“The state government is busy hiding and burying the data on the deaths and not willing to provide transparency on the information regarding demarcation of zones from where the maximum number of dengue cases are being reported,” he wrote in the letter.
Dengue cases in West Bengal have shot up alarmingly this year. A senior official of the state health department said that till date around 50,000 cases have been reported from across the state, with North 24 Parganas registering the maximum number of cases and Kolkata reporting the highest positivity rate of 24.8%.
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“Till November 3, Kolkata reported 5,428 cases, which is higher than the 3,219 cases the city recorded during the 2019 outbreak. North 24 Parganas reported 9,993 cases, the highest among all districts. While Kolkata ranked second, Howrah district with 5,212 cases is third,” said a health department official.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee doubles up as the state’s health minister. The state health secretary could not be contacted as multiple calls went unanswered.
“I have pointed out in my letter that the condition has worsened due to the financial crisis of the WB government. So, in a way, the bankruptcy which the state government is facing has started to affect public health and has resulted in the loss of lives. It’s alarming,” Adhikary tweeted on Monday.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has hit back at the BJP legislator, with TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh saying, “What were these BJP leaders doing when the Covid-19 pandemic situation deteriorated in the country because of the Centre? The state government and the district administrations are doing everything and, in many places, situations are now under control. Adhikari is writing letters to the Centre to stop central funds to the state. This is treachery with the people of West Bengal.”
It may be recalled that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Centre had sent an inter-ministerial team to West Bengal to take stock of the situation and assist the state government. Allegations had then surfaced that the state administration was not cooperating with the central team. Later, the then Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla had to write to the state chief secretary seeking cooperation.
