49 die of malaria in North Bengal

Kolkata, Jun 14 (UNI) Forty-nine people have died and 20,000 affected by the malaria epidemic raging in the Dooars area in North Bengal for the past five months, RSP member Nirmal Das told the West Bengal Assembly today.

Raising the issue during mention hour, Mr Das said the disease was raging in an extensive area, including Alipurduar and Coochbehar adjoining Assam, Bhutan and Dooars since January. Of the total cases 30 to 35 per cent had been diagnosed as malignant malaria, he said.

Calling upon the government to send medical teams to the affected areas, Mr Das said as the local hospitals had inadequate infrastructure, including the facility for blood testing, the government ought to make elaborate measures to tackle the situation.

Mr Das said following his request to the Chief Minister, the state government had sent a medical team to the region, but it was not enough to cope with the high incidence of the disease.

UNI KDG KK LR RS1453