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Walkout over deaths due to Chikangunya
THE ENTIRE Opposition staged a walkout in the State Assembly today accusing the State Government of failing to take adequate steps to control spread of Chikangunya disease, caused by mosquitoes, in Betul, Chhindwara, Badwani and Burhanpur districts of the State.
THE ENTIRE Opposition staged a walkout in the State Assembly today accusing the State Government of failing to take adequate steps to control spread of Chikangunya disease, caused by mosquitoes, in Betul, Chhindwara, Badwani and Burhanpur districts of the State.
While the Opposition alleged deaths of several persons due to spread of Chikangunya, the Government maintained that no death occurred due to the disease. Dissatisfied with government’s reply to a call-attention motion on the issue, Congress, BSP and SP members walked out of the assembly.
Replying to the motion by BSP member I M P Verma and Congress legislator Govind Singh, Health Minister Ajay Vishnoi claimed that the first case of Chikangunya was reported on May 31 in Multai development block of Betul and nearly 43,650 persons were affected by it till date.
Besides, providing medicines and rushing doctors to the affected districts, large-scale fogging operations were carried out to prevent spread of the disease, he said, adding no deaths were reported due to Chikangunya.
SP member Suneelam alleged that at least seven persons died due to the disease. He also charged the government with apathy that led to spread of the disease. Dr Suneelam even dared Health Minister Ajay Vishnoi to tender his resignation if the reports were found correct or he would tender his resignation if the report found incorrect.
Govind Singh sought to know when Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had admitted at a press conference that there was no treatment available for the disease what kind of medicines and treatment were being provided to the patients.
Ajay Vishnoi said the department’s timely and effective steps taken in tackling the disease had contained the spread. For instances, in Betul the number of patients reported daily earlier was from 500 to 700. Now, the number had come down to 80 to 100 per day.
In Chhindwara the number of patients reported per day at present was 5 to 10 as compared to 300 to 400 patients who turned up at the hospitals daily earlier.
