Dengue: BJP councillors stage walkout from KMC session

BJP councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Friday staged a walkout from the monthly session of the TMC-run civic body after its chairperson Mala Roy did not allow them to raise the issue of spurt in dengue cases in the city.

Carrying posters and banners on dengue deaths, BJP councillors shouted slogans and demanded that the issue be discussed at the session.

Roy who is also a Trinamool Congress MP, however, rejected the demand, following which the councillors of the saffron party left the session.

Senior BJP councillor Meena Devi Purohit later told reporters that there has been a phenomenal rise in dengue cases and related deaths in the city.

"The chairperson told us that raising a motion should be intimated at least 24 hours before the start of a session, but this is a serious issue as people are dying," Purohit said.

She alleged that the KMC is trying to suppress information relating to dengue deaths and that is why the motion was not allowed to be raised.

As many as 44,852 dengue cases have been reported from Kolkata and its adjoining areas, a report of the state health department has revealed.

As per a government official, 25 people have died of dengue in the state since January.

BJP workers on Wednesday took out a rally here to protest against the spurt in dengue cases.