As the death toll in the suspected Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) outbreak in Muzaffarpur in Bihar continues to rise, touching 109 on Tuesday, 18 June, kin of children who died due to the fatal disease complained of not getting compensation as hospitals are not providing them with death certificates.
“When my daughter passed away I didn’t get a death certificate. She died a couple of hours after her treatment began here. They gave us the gate pass and an ambulance and we left. Later, we got to know that the government is giving compensation. When we came here to collect the death certificate, they directed us from one counter to the next. They are just fooling us. And, we have no proof (of death).”Father of Deceased Child
Public grief gave way to outrage as angry people raised slogans against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar when he visited the hospital in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.
Scores of people shouted slogans like "Nitish Kumar go back".
“He didn’t utter a single word to the public. Why did he come here if he did not have anything to say?”Protester
A PIL has been filed against Bihar CM Nitish Kumar over the death of children.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had visited Muzaffarpur in 2014 and promised to build a research centre. Responding to reporters’ questions, he said:
“Everybody is doing their best. We are delivering the best that we can. A super speciality centre is already in an advanced stage of construction. I have myself seen to that. We have also promised every possible support to the state government.”Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister
Meanwhile, the Congress hit out at Vardhan saying there is "no work, all talk".
A plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking direction to the Centre to urgently constitute a team of medical experts for treatment of children in Bihar suspected to be suffering from acute encephalitis syndrome (AES), which had claimed more than 100 lives.
Moreover, the lychee grown in Muzaffarpur is said to contain a toxin that can cause a drop in blood-sugar levels if consumed by a malnourished child.
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