Bengal dengue, fever dealing deaths emerging as major state Opposition
KOLKATA : As Prime Minister Narendra Modi senses the backlash in post-demonetization, GST days, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee struggles hard with the real figure of dengue deaths in Bengal while dengue turns nature- and mosquito-triggered killing fever in affected districts.
Even till yesterday, Banerjee pooh-poohing private nursing home, and laboratory reports said according to state health department only 13 dengue victims, but private report said about 38 people got killed in dengue! Even as the heated argument set not to bring back the dead, several doctors’ association attacked state government for infrastructural failures as far as spreading dengue fever is concerned
Everywhere there’s a failure of state health department to abide by the vector-borne disease treatment,’’ said leader of one doctors’ body. Even government hospitals are not always equipped with enough beds to accommodate increasing number of patients coming for treatment,’’ they added. Though Chief Minister launched a campaign to spike of what she termed a bad publicity, “but deaths are real,’’ said a private nursing home doctor.
Besides medicines and treatment expenses have gone up beyond the capacity of patients. “Both doctors, treatment costs have gone up and thanks to GST, barring paracetemol no this much is available, said a former dengue affected patient. The situation is really bad and it is expected to last till winter stays,’’ said a state Congress leader who earlier wrote a letter to Chief Minister.
Though state BJP launched a campaign to blame TMC Government, “but none seems to have solution in hand,’’ a CPI(M) leader said. However, the doctors’ associations have advised TMC Government to if necessary take advices from top vector-borne nation experts to avert a dengue scourge. What however upsets Chief Minister has been the dengue which is set to stay and create difficult days in days to come, will badly dent her popularity, it’s a double-edged blade it cuts on all sides.
