Chikungunya toll rises to 12 in Delhi, govt says hospitals equipped to fight the menace

The minister also said that he has called for a meeting of the MCD officials to review the situation as a result of Chikungunya outbreak.

New Delhi: The toll in Chikungunya has risen to 12 in Delhi even as the state government has firmed up plans to fight the vector-borne disease.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Thursday said the "arrangements are good” after visiting about a dozen hospitals in the city.

He also said that he has called for a meeting of MCD officials to review the situation.

The minister said that he has directed the civic bodies to check all construction sites for accumulated water, which help breed mosquitoes.

The government has meanwhile beefed up fumigation in different parts of the city.

Many patients are reportedly distressed as the outbreak of dengue and Chikungunya hit the national capital.

On Wednesday, two more people died of Chikungunya at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), raising the toll to 12.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda has sought a report from the Delhi Government on the rising deaths and number of patients.

Delhi's Water Minister Kapil Mishra also appealed to all legislators and councillors to keep aside political differences and fight the vector-borne menace together.

Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung also urged the people to rise above considerations of politics and fight chikungunya and dengue unitedly.

Union Health Minister J.P Nadda said there was no dearth of medicines and testing kits in the hospitals.

He said that 11 advisories have been issued to all states and they have been requested to declare dengue as a notifiable disease, for improving reporting and for taking preventive measures in affected areas.

Several awareness programmes through print and electronic media and issuing of advertisements for controlling the diseases have been initiated by the government.

Gearing up to tackle the rising cases of chikungunya and dengue, Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra along with BJP parliamentarian from North East Delhi Manoj Tiwari conducted fogging in Sonia Vihar area of Karawal Nagar.