Families vacate homes in Harivanshpur village due to fear of AES

Pic/AFP

People of Harivanshpur village of Vaishali district have left their homes due to fear of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). Most families have shifted their children to other villages after the outbreak of the disease.

"My two sons died due to Acute Encephalitis in the matter of an hour. The elder one was 7 years old while the younger one was two years old. There were no awareness campaigns by the administration regarding the disease," father of the deceased children told ANI.

The father also criticised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying "The Chief Minister has done nothing to spread awareness regarding the disease. There are no arrangements in the hospital for children suffering from the disease."

Another man said, "My seven-year-old daughter died. There was no arrangement from the administration regarding the disease."

Another person said, "I have shifted my two children to another village as it is dangerous here. Other families have also shifted their children."

On the other hand, the death toll due to AES reached 128 in Bihar on Wednesday according to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

The Congress on Wednesday described the deaths of children in Bihar due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome as a "national horror story" and demanded accountability from the Centre and the state government.

Party spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi addressed a press conference and accused the two governments of being "insensitive" and unprepared for tackling such an outbreak.

"It is a national tragedy, it is a national horror story and the perpetrators of this horror story are the Centre and the state government," he said.

He added while attacking Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and his predecessor J P Nadda, "We demand accountability from both the State and the Centre."

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