Baring the deputy CM Sushi Modi a senior BJP leader, no other prominent face of BJP has stood by Nitish in this hour of crisis. While the local level BJP workers have been motivating the parents of the kids died due to AES to protest poor health services and raise their voices against Nitish, the senior BJP leaders have been maintaining distance from the JD(U) leaders and ministers on this issue.

Surprisingly no JD(U) minister or leader visited the hospital or even accompanied the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan during his visit to the hospital a week back. The issue of protocol might have been there, but it certainly not prevented a JD(U) minister accompanying him. The only exception was JD(U) minister Shyam Rajak who visited the hospital on his own.

Senior JD(U) leaders nurse the feeling that BJP has not been sympathetic to Nitish. They point out that the health minister, Mangal Pandey, the former state BJP chief did not visit the hospital just after the break out of AES also did activate the health services in the region. While hundreds of kids were dying due to AES he was on a foreign tour.

While visiting the hospital instead of monitoring the treatment to the kids, Pandey observed that the parents be made aware of the disease through an aware campaign. He was not clear what should be the nature of the campaign? What should be the thrust area? At a time the doctors are absolutely confused of the nature of the disease and are groping about the mode of treatment and the medicine to be administered, Pandey was suggesting of launching an awareness campaign.

This reflected the utter of knowledge about health care and also reflects the administrative bankruptcy of the minister. The crisis also exposed the lack of health facilities and also poor preparedness of the government in facing such challenges. Meanwhile, a case was filed against the Central Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan and his Bihar counterpart Mangal Pandey for 'failing to perform their duties' that led to the death of nearly 150 children in Muzaffarpur. Not satisfied with the government's actions, both ministers while visiting hospital were faced with protests by the family members of the victims who accused them of failing to act promptly.

Former Union Health Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dr. C P Thakur did not mince words in accusing Nitish government of not taking adequate preventive measures against the deaths caused by encephalitis. He accused the Nitish administration of reacting slowly to the epidemic of AES. He held "Had they responded swiftly when the news of AES was first reported a few weeks ago, many lives would have been saved. The government is responsible for this tragedy and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should have personally visited hospitals in Muzaffarpur to check on the patients instead of dispatching government officials". It ought to be mentioned that DXR Thakur has been studying and researching on kalazar and encephalitis for decades.

Relatives of the deceased kids had protested and raised slogans against Nitish when he visited the hospital a few days ago. People were more angry with the doctors for their failure to diagnose the decease. No doubt this crisis exposed the rot that has gripped the health services in the, their failure simply underlines the fact that the doctors did keep themselves abreast of latest deceases and medicinal developments.

Villagers were angry that the state government didn’t seem serious about the crisis, even as their children continued to die, and blamed the government for ignoring the plight of the poor. Most victims are impoverished and belong to ‘backward’ or ‘Dalit’ families, it is said.

Nitish had visited the hospital 17 days after the disease broke out in the region. Nitish also announced compensation to the kids but they are yet to reach their parents. Some parents alleged that some fake people have been taking away the compensation money with the help of the officials. Parents insist “ We don’t want monetary compensations for deaths of our children, we want eradication of this disease which has robbed happiness from hundreds of families.”

From the beginning the doctors have been indifferent to patients. Mother of a child alleged “My child was referred to AIIMS in New Delhi when I admitted him for treatment at the local hospital. Please tell me how can a poor like me arrange for such huge money to rush there and spend on his treatment? I have already taken a loan of Rs40,000 from villagers”.

Dr Harsh Vardhan during his visit reiterated the same assurances which he had given to the local poor in 2014. The lack of concern about the suffering children could be gauged from the simple incident that the minister Mangal Pandey was heard asking reporters of the scores in India’s cricket match against Pakistan during a press briefing by Dr Harsh Vardhan. IN 2014 Harsh Vardhan had instructed to construct a 100-bed paediatric intensive care unit in Muzaffarpur and also to set up five virology laboratories in different districts of Bihar.

Nevertheless a BJP leader quipped that the disease has close connections with four “Gs” — gaon (village), garibi (poverty), gandagi (unhygienic conditions) and garmi (heat). (IPA Service)