Pondy CM seeksRs 30 cr from Centre to fight dengue

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today urged the Centre to give it Rs 30 crore to fight dengue and said the Union Territory was facing an "unprecedented" situation mainly due to the influx of patients from Tamil Nadu.
Talking to newsmen after discussions with a five-member central team, which arrived here to take stock of the situation, he said Rs 30 crore was needed to equip government hospitals with adequate equipment and other facilities.
"The present occurrence of dengue is unprecedented, especially because a good number of patientsseeking treatment at Puducherry government hospitals hail from neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu," he said.

Narayanasamy said two persons undergoing treatment for dengue at private hospitals have died, while government hospitals have not reported any dengue deaths.
The chief minister also informed the team that the Vector Control Research Centre, an Indian Council Medical Research project in Puducherry, has not shared with the government any findings and the outcome of its research on dengue and other diseases.
He said he had submitted a detailed report for financial aid to the Union health minister during his recent visit to Delhi.

The central team later met Lt Governor Kiran Bedi.
The team deputed to examine the dengue situation in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry had arrived in Chennai on October 13.

It had termed the 40 deaths due to the vector-borne disease in Tamil Nadu since January as "minimal" and said there was no need to panic.