Spread of JE in Purvanchal due to lack of sanitation, says CM
Most sources of water are polluted and sufficient steps have not been taken for their conservation
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday attributed the spread of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the state’s eastern region to the lack of sanitation and cleanliness of water bodies.
Most sources of water were polluted and sufficient steps had not been taken for their conservation, he said after distributing assisting devices to ‘Divyangs’ (differently abled) at a function in Deoria.
“Every year encephalitis, during the monsoons, claims hundreds of lives. The main reason for the spread of this disease is that people in the Purvanchal region (in eastern Uttar Pradesh) do not pay adequate attention to cleanliness,” the chief minister said. A drive must be initiated to clean all the rivers, ponds and other water bodies in cities, towns and villages under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the chief minister said. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Journal of Public Health, Uttar Pradesh contributed a fifth of the disease burden (20.4% of cases and 18.7% of deaths) between 19781987.
The state’s contribution increased between 1988 and 1997 to 24.3% cases and 20.9% deaths, and represented well over half of the total cases and deaths reported in the country between 1998 and 2009, it said. In 2005, a major outbreak in the state contributed over 90% of all suspected Japanese Encephalitis (JE) cases (6,061).
PENSION FOR DISABLED TO BE INCREASED FROM 300 TO 500
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday announced that government will increase the monthly pension of disabled from Rs 300 to Rs 500. He made the announcement while inaugurating a camp for distribution of assistive devices to differently-abled persons in Salempur of Deoria.