Be more constructive to check encephalitis, SUCI(C) tells govt

Expressing concern over the outbreak of encephalitis in North Bengal, the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) today urged the West Bengal government to arrest the situation immediately by taking up more constructive measures.
A four-member party delegation led by its lone MLA in the Assembly Tarun Naskar today met Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya and demanded that the entire health infrastructure in North Bengal be improved to handle the growing number of encephalitis patients.
Describing the steps taken so far by the government to check further spread of encephalitis as "not adequate enough", SUCI (C) Central Committee member Chhaya Mukherjee urged the minister to take more constructive preventive measures, besides improving the infrastructure.

Alleging that excepting the North Bengal Medical College Hospital, no other hospital in North Bengal had the infrastructure to handle such a situation, Mukherjee said people were not getting proper medical facilities.
"Even medical kits required for the purpose is also inadequate and thus steps should be taken immediately to enhance entire infrastructure in North Bengal," she said.
Claiming that the death toll would be over 200, the party state committee member Dr Asok Samanta regretted that the state government has disclosed a figure much lower than the real one.
Samanta said they have demanded at least Rs 2 lakh compensation per family in death cases, besides urging the minister proper surveillance against encephalitis, dengue and malaria.