Govt must improve condition of hospitals: TMC

New Delhi: Even as the death toll of children, who have succumbed to acute encephilitis syndrome (AES) in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, has risen to 150, Trinamul Congress (TMC) on Thursday said in Lok Sabha that the Union health minister is yet to make a statement on the issue in the house.

TMC MP member Saugata Roy, while demanding that the Centre should take steps to improve condition of state-run hospitals and reduce child deaths, said that though Union health minister Harsh Vardhan had visited Bihar, he has not made any statement in the house on the reason of death of so many children.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour, Mr Roy also said that the infrastructure in Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital in the national capital was not adequate to meet demand of patients. He said about 6,000 children have died in this hospital in the past six years for various reasons including premature death and respiratory infections. Raising similar issue, Sanjay Jaiswal from the BJP said a virology centre should be set in Paschim Champaran. He also said that awareness progra-mme should be undertaken in areas including Paschim Champaran and Gorakhpur.