West Bengal BJP leaders and workers on Monday protested against the dengue outbreak and criticised the state government for alleged lack of infrastructure to tackle the disease which, they claimed, had led to over 1,000 deaths.
The protesters demanded that the Mamata Banerjee government make public the actual number of deaths due to the disease in the state.
The agitators marched to the Swasthya Bhawan headquarters here, broke through the police barricades and rallied in front of the Health Department building gates to demand that officials hand over records of actual number of people affected by dengue in Bengal.
Some activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party's Mahila Morcha put up mosquito nets on the streets and registered their protest while sitting inside.
Accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of trying to "mislead" the people and doing politics over a serious issue like dengue outbreak, BJP state Mahila Morcha President Locket Chatterjee said the Trinamool Congress government should immediately ensure proper treatment of the affected and compensation to families of those who succumbed to the disease.
"It is unthinkable that a Chief Minister is doing politics and trying to misguide people on a serious issue. As per our information, more than 1,000 persons have died of dengue in Bengal while the official figure is 38," Chatterjee said.
"Doctors and testing laboratories have been pressurised to suppress dengue cases, due to which a lot of people are not getting proper treatment. There should be no hiding of facts on medical reports," the BJP leader demanded.
"Rs 2 lakh is given to families of those who die in hooch tragedies. Why not something for dengue victims as well? The Chief Minister should consider some compensation in form of jobs or financial assistance for families of those who die of dengue," she added.
State government reports say more than 30 persons have died due to mosquito-borne disease, while over 14,500 have been affected.
--IANS
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