Union MoS for Health Bharati Pravin PawarUnion Minister of State (MoS) for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar on Friday accused the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal of not sharing dengue data with the Centre.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 16th Asian Conference on Diarrhoeal Disease and Nutrition (ASCODD) in Kolkata, Pawar said, “The central government is constantly issuing guidelines to the states about dengue.
The Centre doesn’t know how many have been affected by the vector-borne disease in Bengal. The state should inform us about the real situation on the ground.”
The minister appealed to the state to report information related to dengue immediately.
Reacting sharply to the Union minister’s statement, state Agriculture Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said the state is not bound to share information with the Centre. “There is no obligation on part of us to share data with the Centre. It is completely a state matter and our government is responsible enough . There is no problem with the state government’s efforts in combating the disease. But it is also important for people to be aware and prepared. Many people are still quite unaware about the spread of dengue,” said Chattopadhyay.
On Friday, another person died of dengue in Kolkata. Rohit Das (30), an IT sector employee from Survey Park, was admitted to a private hospital on October 22.
On Thursday, a total of 723 persons were found to be dengue positive in the state.