ANGUL: The epicentre of dengue has reported one more death at Talcher taking the toll to 22 in the district. Sankhari Sahu (47) of Nandira colliery died while being shifted to Cuttack. A resident of Soloda village, she was suffering from fever for the last five days and under treatment, sources said.As the State Government is yet to open any additional centre in the district to treat dengue patients in addition to the Nalco, NTPC and State government hospitals, there has been an unprecedented rush of fever patients to MCL Central Hospital.As many as 500 fever patients report at MCL hospital daily which is struggling with shortage of doctors and paramedical staff, said a doctor there. Even posting of four government doctors has not helped, he added.So far over 600 dengue positive patients have been referred to hospitals at Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, hospital sources said.Continuous dengue deaths and positive cases even after 20 days of the outbreak is an indication of insufficient anti-dengue drive in Talcher-Angul belt by the State and industrial authorities. Surprisingly there has been no official briefing from the district administration on the status of dengue situation forcing media to depend on unofficial sources. Chief District Medical Officer RC Behera, admitting to the limitations of central hospital, said a dengue centre would be opened at district headquarters hospital soon to take up related cases. Shortage of pathologists and technicians would remain a matter of concern, he said and requested the government to provide pathologists and infrastructure support to deal with the situation.Meanwhile, protesting the two reported dengue deaths at Pallahara sub-division, BJP organised a dharna in front of sub- collector’s office there. Hundreds of BJP workers led by district president Asoke Mahanty staged a dharna to press the authorities to take comprehensive steps to eradicate dengue.According to district office, Health Minister Prasanna Acharya is likely to visit the district on Tuesday to review the situation. Earlier, senior BJP leader Bijay Mahapatra and Opposition leader Bhupinder Singh visited the dengue-affected Talcher and Angul.Salepur: A 30-year-old woman of Banapur village under Basudevpur gram panchayat in Mahanga block died of dengue on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Ranjulata Prusty. She was admitted to Basudevpur primary health centre with fever and later referred to SCB Medical, Cuttack. She tested positive for dengue and is undergoing treatment. Sources said dengue was spreading to Salepur, Mahanga and Nischintakoili blocks. Seven persons from the region have tested positive for dengue and admitted to SCB Medical. No effective measures have so far been initiated by the administration to create awareness in rural areas.
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