Opposition members on Saturday came down heavily on the State Government over the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and malnutrition deaths, stating that it is the callous attitude of the authorities that helped the deadly JE to claim lives of more than 123 children in undivided Koraput district, including Malkangiri.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Opposition Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati, BJP member Pradeep Purohit and several other opposition members said had the Government taken timely preventive measures, the disease would not have taken an epidemic proportion.
Noisy scenes were marked as they kept up demanding that the Chief Minister make a statement on the floor of the House to inform what amount of money has been spent to control the JE outbreak and organising the Make in Odisha Conclave. They too wanted to know why the Chief Minister didn’t visit the JE-affected Malkangiri district.
While many companies have withdrawn their projects due to lack of cooperation of the State Government, holding the Make in Odisha Conclave is nothing but a waste of public money, they alleged.
Ruling members Prafulla Samal, Dhaneswar Majhi and Ayub Khan refuting the allegations said while Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Power Minister Piyush Goyal and PNG Minister Dharmendra Pradhan praised the Make in Odisha Conclave, opposition members are making it an issue only to defame the Government.