In tune with the earlier trend, the last day of the monsoon session saw some BJP MLAs tearing into the State Government on issues of public interest. The BJP MLA from Khanpur, Pranav Singh ‘Champion’ created flutter during the question hour when he charged the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant with giving wrong information to the Assembly on the issue of Hepatitis C deaths.
The member questioned the correctness of the remark of the Minister made in response to his question that no death has occurred in Khanpur due to Hepatitis C. The MLA from Khanpur claimed that three persons have died of the disease.
He also appeared dissatisfied with the Minister’s statement that samples of 65 patients have been sent by the health department for RNA Genotype Confirmatory test to the National Communicable Diseases Prevention Centre, New Delhi.
He said that it was not required as Hepatitis C can be confirmed by Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay ( ELISA) test available in the state.
Pant said that the Health Department had organised a camp for survey of Hepatitis C cases at Khanpur in Haridwar from August 25 to 28 during which blood samples of 249 patients had been tested for ELISA test out of which 65 were found positive. The Minister admitted that there is no facility for treatment of Hepatitis C in the Government hospitals based in the State. He, however, added that the Health Department has sent a proposal to the Union Government for treatment of Hepatitis C in the State. Pant also told the House that the Government has included treatment of acute Hepatitis in 1350 packages under Atal Ayushman Yojana.
Pant found himself on the receiving end of criticism again when the BJP MLA Pushkar Singh Dhami termed the data presented by him on percentage of residents of Uttarakhand in the industrial units of SIIDCUL as incorrect.
The Minister had informed that in the 1295 active industrial units established in SIIDCUL, 70 percent of the workers are residents with Uttarakhand domicile.