Union minister reviews dengue scenario with Edappadi Palanisami

Chennai: Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Sunday discussed the measures being taken by the TN government to tackle dengue during his meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami here on Sunday.

Mr Choubey said the dengue patients were getting good treatment at the (Rajiv Gandhi Government General) hospital here and that the government is working hard towards making the State dengue-free. “I have just come after visiting the dengue patients, and can confidently say that they are getting a good treatment here,” he said. “The machine for testing gives results in about 40 seconds and there are about 830 more machines taking care of other issues and hence I am very confident that the doctors are taking good care of the dengue patients here,” he claimed.

The State government apprised Mr Choubey of the steps being taken to combat dengue. At a meeting at his residence, Mr Palaniswami briefed the Union Minister on the measures put in place to control the spread of the vector-borne disease and also handed over a copy of the State’s request for the financial aid.

 Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, Health Minister Dr C. Vijayabaskar and Principal Secretary Health Department, J. Radhakrishnan were also present at the meeting. “We requested him to sanction Rs. 256 crore and he has (Mr Choubey) said that the Central government will consider it,” Dr Vijayabaskar later told reporters.

The minister also interacted with doctors and took stock of the situation, even as an expert team, dispatched on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is on a visit to the state since the past three days to study the dengue situation.

Mr Choubey’s visit to the city comes a day after DMK working president M. K. Stalin objected to the observation of the Central team member Ashutosh Biswas, professor of medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, for describing 40 deaths in Tamil Nadu due to dengue as “minimal,” and demanded the removal of Biswas from the team.

 Meanwhile, speaking to reporters at the airport here on Sunday, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker and AIADMK senior M. Thambidurai, said dengue would soon be controlled in Tamil Nadu. Asked about the claims being made by the opposition parties in the state on the high prevalence and fatalities, he replied, “I cannot answer such accusations.”