The Bahujan Samaj Party staged a noisy walkout in the Uttar Pradesh assembly on Wednesday over spread of swine flu in the state saying the Government has failed to control the menace that has led to loss of so many precious lives. leader of the opposition Swami Prasad Maurya said that the government was trying to cover up the deaths by concealing the figures of the infected patients in the state.
Replying to a question in the House, minister of state for health Shankh lal Manjhi said the spread of H1N1 virus is well under control and only 17 deaths have been reported so far in the state while 1242 people including 923 were infected with the swine flu so far. But the BJP and the BSP members alleged that the number of death toll in swine flu is more than what the government is claiming. “Government is trying to cover up because it has failed to create awareness among the people,” Satish Mahana (BJP) said adding that Government claims two people have died in Kanpur while the toll is seven.
The minister said that the toll is authentic. Some media houses have exaggerated figure that has created a panic in UP. He even went to the extent of claiming that swine flu has taken lives of several hundred people in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra – the states ruled by BJP. “The toll in UP is less because the government is alive to the situation and the state government has issued five alerts for the swine flu,” he said.
In another question, the minister said a super speciality hospital under PPP model would be set up in Chak Ganjaria in the state capital. But he refused to promise any other super speciality hospital in other parts of the state particularly in the Rohilkhand region.