Click to play videoNew Delhi: The number of Dengue cases in the Capital's hospitals is nearing the 500 mark and it's not just patients from Delhi, but cases from neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also streaming into Delhi hospitals.
The strain is begining to tell even on the premier medical institute in the country - All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
A makeshift casualty ward has been constituted for dengue patients at AIIMS. Inspite of 11 casulaties being reported in the Capital, this ward is the best that the premier medical institute has to offer.
And troubled patients who are facing the brunt, have a lot to complain. They say that they are not getting any proper attention.
AIIMS is the only hospital in the city, which is facing a shortage of blood.
Camps have been organised to encourage people to donate blood. In the meantime, as fresh cases are pouring in, it's the patient who faces the maximum risk.
Says a patient waiting to be treated at AIIMS, "They say they don't have any blood to give me. I' hae been refered from one hosspital to the other.''
AIIMS is now being pulled up by the state and Central Government for its shoddy show.
However, hospital authorities are arguing that they are overburdened and are trying their best.
Says Head Of Department, Community Medicine, Bir Singh, "We have enough space, but obviously there is a limit to which a place can stretch to."
The Delhi government in the meantime is coming up with some quick-fix solutions. Each and every cabinet minister has been asked to look into the problem.
While school children have been asked to wear full sleeved clothing from Wednesday, the MCD has been ordered to deploy an extra 2,400 workers to speed up fogging operations across Delhi. But despite all these precautions, the state government still maintains that there is no need to declare this as an epidemic.
Says Delhi state Health Minister, Yoganand Shastri, "We must be alert, but it is not an epidemic.''
October is the month when the weather conditions are most favourable for the dengue carrying aedes mosquitoe to breed. While the government insists that it is fully equipped to handle this health menace, the next few days are actually going to test these very claims.
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