Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that some people were trying to create panic regarding dengue ‘outbreak’ in the state and asserted that her government was taking adequate measures to combat the situation. Mamata said that so far 40 people have died due to vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria and swine flu. “There is no need to panic. Some people with vested interests are trying to create panic. Some corporate houses, which had opposed our decision to set up a health commission, are passing wrong information. We will take strong action against them. We are monitoring the situation 24 hours. The government is taking all measures to control the situation and provide relief to the people. Some doctors are also working 24 hours. We have also alerted all municipalities to launch special drive to kill mosquitoes,” she said after holding a meeting with state health department officials at Nabanna. Mamata added, “The Opposition is trying to take political mileage out of it. We have to be human first. Some political parties are indulging in dirty politics over the present situation. We don’t support that.” The chief minister said that so far 13 dengue deaths have been verified by the state government. “So far, 13 people have died due to dengue in government hospitals. We have also received a report of 27 deaths, which were caused by malaria, dengue or swine flu. These deaths occurred in private hospitals and we are yet to verify the reports. We cannot say that these 27 people died due to dengue without verifying,” she said. Mamata informed that deaths caused by vector-borne diseases in West Bengal were less compared to other states. “In Gujarat, 435 people have died due to vector-borne diseases. In Maharashtra, the number is 695. In Rajasthan, it is 230. In Uttar Pradesh, it is 165 and in Madhya Pradesh 141. Even in smaller states like Kerala it is 111 and in Tamil Nadu it is 12. In Assam, the number is 87 and in Odisha it is 83. These reports were uploaded 15 days ago. I do not have the latest data. We have received 21,000 complaints (from people suffering from dengue),” she said. The chief minister said that she would not hesitate to dissolve municipalities, which will be seen not taking measures to combat the dengue outbreak despite receiving funds from the health department. “Taking care of people is my priority. I will not compromise on that.”
