Facing flak for its ham-handed handling of dengue outbreak, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is publishing a white paper on Tuesday. Claiming that vested interests were spreading misinformation about the number of cases of the vector-borne disease and the number of deaths due to it, member mayor-in council (MMiC), health, Atin Ghosh said that the white paper was aimed at setting the record straight.
According to the statement released by the state health department, in Kolkata, 405 cases have been tested positive for dengue fever and 1,252 people are suspected to have it. Their blood samples have been sent for testing. The Bengal statistics shows that there are total 660 positive patients and 1,856 people suspected to be affected by it. However, unofficial sources claimed that one more person died on Monday, taking the death toll in the city to 18. Till Sunday, 17 people had died in the city and 21 people in the state, unofficial sources claimed.
Hospitals and nursing homes are running out of bed and have put up placards, clearly stating “no bed” or “no vacancy”. Sudeshna Lahiri, deputy superintendent of the Calcutta Medical and Research Institute, said: “We are running out of beds and have thus put up this notice. At present, 54 people are being treated with dengue fever in our hospital.” Similar is the scene at another private hospital along EM Bypass. Even students and house staff at the National Institute of Homeopathy and SSKM are suffering from dengue fever.
Meanwhile, political squabbles have already begun over the issue with Trinamul Congress MLA and chairman of the standing committee of health in state Assembly Nirmal Majhi stating that the corporates are blowing things out of proportion and doing brisk business. State urban and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim stated that state government cannot stop dengue as it is a natural phenomenon of the season.