Malaria claims 76 lives in Tripura

Agartala, Aug 3: At least 76 people have died of malaria in the state during the past one and a half months, the state government on Sunday said.

The deaths occurred mostly in the tribal dominated areas since mid-June till date, Health and Family Welfare Minister Badal Chowdhury told reporters here.

"Insurgency has ravaged the state for about three decades and the impact of the militancy was acute in the remote and tribal compact areas. As a result adequate infrastructures could not be made in those areas. Now peace has restored in the state, so we have planned to set up 15 Primary Health Centres (PHC) in those areas," he said.

During his recent visit to Delhi he met Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and submitted a memorandum seeking help to improve the health infrastructure in the state, Chowdhury said.

He also demanded setting up a hospital like All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) so that people could avail the modern facilities without rushing to the metro cities, the minister said.

"I reminded the union minister about his announcement of setting up AIIMS in all states. He said that 200 acres of land near the capital city with good connectivity is required for setting up such a hospital and assured that the demand would be considered positively if the required conditions are fulfilled," he said.

PTI