Dengue cases cross 50k-mark in Bengal

Kolkata: The total number of Dengue-affected cases in West Bengal has crossed an alarming mark of 50,000 this season.

According to the West Bengal Health Department, 56,707 cases have been recorded so far, with over 10,000 being affected in the last seven days, till Sunday evening.

Although the health ministry has not released any data on dengue-related deaths till now, unofficial estimates put the casualties at 60.

Meanwhile, leader of the BJP-led opposition Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the toll has crossed 100 considering that in several cases dengue deaths have been reported as “death due to unknown fever.”

Health department insiders fear that going by the current situation the possibility of the forthcoming Durga Puja festival being held under the shadow of the dengue outbreak cannot be ruled out.

As per health department statistics, the worst affected areas are North 24 Parganas, where the total number of cases as on date touched 11,244, state capital Kolkata is in the second position with the figure touching 6,070 and Murshidabad is in the third place with 5,791 cases.

The other districts where the impact had been serious include South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah, and Malda.

At the beginning of this month, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Calcutta High Court seeking its invention in ensuring proper administrative initiatives in arresting further spread of the disease.

The PIL has been filed at a time when the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has accused the West Bengal Health Department of suppressing the actual figures relating to the number of affected people or the deaths.

On the other hand, the state government has accused the Union government of denying the necessary financial assistance on this count.

With inputs from IANS