Send team to tackle dengue in West Bengal: BJP to Centre

In the letter, a copy of which he shared on Twitter, the BJP leader said the situation has worsened due to the financial crisis staring at the state government that is busy hiding data on the vector-borne disease.

“The dengue situation in West Bengal has spiralled out of control due to an inefficient state government. In a way, the bankruptcy the state government is facing has started to affect public health and has resulted in the loss of lives. It’s alarming,” he said.

Adhikari wrote, “At a time when you are choking in the national capital, the people of West Bengal are tormented by mosquitoes. Dengue has taken West Bengal in its grip for the past three months, with the cases on the rise in several parts of the state. The worst-affected areas are Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, Hooghly and Howrah.”

The BJP MLA from Nandigram also requested an investigation into data provided by the state government on the disease and asked the Centre to punish the people involved.

In the last week, over 5,000 people tested positive for dengue in Bengal, with most of the cases reported from North 24 Parganas district, a health official said.
The Trinamool Congress criticised Adhikari for writing to the Union Health Ministry and claimed that the state government has taken all necessary steps to control the dengue situation.

“Suvendu Adhikari intends to tarnish the state’s image. Instead, he should write to the union minister, requesting him to release funds for the state that the Centre has withheld,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

— With PTI inputs