The new government may take efforts to eradicate the disease, says BJP representative
Majority of the seats in eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of western Bihar have fallen in Bharatiya Janata Party’s account. Will the change of guard bring any relief to the children dying from Japanese Encephalitis in the area?
Aditya Nath, BJP representative in Parliament from Gorakhpur, who had been vociferously speaking about the issue, now senses a positive wave that will help eradicate the disease. His party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had also expressed concern over the deaths caused by the disease while addressing a rally in Deoria and Kushinagar areas.
The rise in the number of deaths due to Japanese Encephalitis has been a big issue for the local people. They had been requesting political parties to address the problem at the earliest, but to no avail. In the last assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi, vice-president of All India Congress Committee, had shown concern about the issue. However, the Congress did not perform well in the elections in the state and the issue was pushed to cold storage.
As per the records of Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur, more than 10,000 children lost their lives because of Japanese Encephalitis. However, R N Singh, the chief campaigner of Encephalitis Eradication Movement, says the real number would be at least 100,000. This is because there are many who are unable to reach the medical college.
Singh said the poll result has given people the hope that the government will make efforts to curb the disease since it can be prevented.
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