Opposition Congress and BJP today targeted the Naveen Patnaik government over its "failure" to tackle the dengue menace in Odisha.
Visiting separately to the SCB Medical College and Hospital here on the day, Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Prasad Harichandan and BJP state president Basant Panda came down heavily on the State government for allegedly putting the urban sanitations into haywire.
"Civic bodies across the state are virtually defunct. The situation in Cuttack city is most horrible as sanitation and cleanliness here have gone haywire due to unplanned work to refurbish the drainage and sewerage system," Prasad said.
"Dengue has been assuming epidemic form since 2011. Every year during monsoon, the disease is creating havoc across the state and the state government during this period has failed to fathom its severity," the state BJP chief alleged suggesting an all-party meeting on it.
Meanwhile, the number of dengue patients in the Cuttack hospital on the day crossed 50. Out of 75 blood samples received yesterday, 26 tested positive to dengue virus, hospital officials said.
The hospital is planning to increase the bed strength of its exclusive ward from 80 to 100. Similarly, requisitions have been made to man the ward with more doctors and paramedic staff, they said.
The situation is worsening in the mining townships of Keonjhar district. Reports reaching here said out of 924 blood samples collected in the district, 325 of them have tested positive to dengue virus, district officials said.
