News Analysis India

Tag: Firozabad

  • Dalit student doing first-year MBBS course dies by suicide in UP’s Firozabad; kin alleges harassment

    By Online Desk

    A first-year MBBS student, belonging to the Dalit community, died by suicide in his hostel room at Firozabad Medical College (Autonomous State Medical College Society) in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, reports said.

    The 21-year-old student, Shailendra Kumar, hailing from Kaushalya Nagar in Firozabad, was found hanging in his hostel room.

    Reports said that the student didn’t turn up for an exam on Saturday. His friends went to his hostel room to check why he had not appeared for the exam and found it locked from the inside. They broke open the door and found him hanging. He was rushed to a hospital but to no avail.

    The students of the college blocked the National Highway near the district hospital in Firozabad demanding justice for the victim. They accused the principal of the college, the hostel warden among others for abetting the suicide.

    The student’s kin claimed that he was harassed by the college administration since he was a Dalit. The student had informed his parents several times about the harassment. The victim’s father, according to a report, said that his son was vocal against the college administration over irregularities and lack of basic facilities in the college. The college administration threatened to suspend him. He was also not allowed to sit for the Physiology exam on Saturday morning. Shortly thereafter he resorted to the extreme step.

    The victim’s father was quoted in a report as saying that the college even refused to provide an ambulance to take his son to the hospital. Finally, he was taken on a motorcycle.

    Police have registered a case and are investigating.

    A first-year MBBS student, belonging to the Dalit community, died by suicide in his hostel room at Firozabad Medical College (Autonomous State Medical College Society) in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, reports said.

    The 21-year-old student, Shailendra Kumar, hailing from Kaushalya Nagar in Firozabad, was found hanging in his hostel room.

    Reports said that the student didn’t turn up for an exam on Saturday. His friends went to his hostel room to check why he had not appeared for the exam and found it locked from the inside. They broke open the door and found him hanging. He was rushed to a hospital but to no avail.

    The students of the college blocked the National Highway near the district hospital in Firozabad demanding justice for the victim. They accused the principal of the college, the hostel warden among others for abetting the suicide.

    The student’s kin claimed that he was harassed by the college administration since he was a Dalit. The student had informed his parents several times about the harassment. The victim’s father, according to a report, said that his son was vocal against the college administration over irregularities and lack of basic facilities in the college. The college administration threatened to suspend him. He was also not allowed to sit for the Physiology exam on Saturday morning. Shortly thereafter he resorted to the extreme step.

    The victim’s father was quoted in a report as saying that the college even refused to provide an ambulance to take his son to the hospital. Finally, he was taken on a motorcycle.

    Police have registered a case and are investigating.

  • UP: BJP expels corporator who ‘bought’ baby from child lifters

    By PTI

    FIROZABAD: The BJP said it has expelled a corporator of the Firozabad Municipal Corporation for allegedly buying a seven-month-old boy from child traffickers.

    Vineeta Agarwal, the corporator from ward number 51, and her husband Krishna Murari Agrawal had paid Rs 1.80 lakh for the infant as they wanted to have a male child though they had a daughter.

    Chief of BJP’s Firozabad Mahanagar (city) unit Rakesh Shankhwar on Tuesday said the corporator has been suspended from the party with immediate effect.

    In the letter sent to the corporator, it was mentioned that the decision to expel her was taken after the Firozabad Mahanagar complained to the party’s state unit regarding her “behaviour”, he said.

    The child was stolen from a platform of the Mathura junction on August 24 and recovered by the Government Railway Police. Eight people, including Vineeta Agarwal and her husband, have been arrested in the case.

    FIROZABAD: The BJP said it has expelled a corporator of the Firozabad Municipal Corporation for allegedly buying a seven-month-old boy from child traffickers.

    Vineeta Agarwal, the corporator from ward number 51, and her husband Krishna Murari Agrawal had paid Rs 1.80 lakh for the infant as they wanted to have a male child though they had a daughter.

    Chief of BJP’s Firozabad Mahanagar (city) unit Rakesh Shankhwar on Tuesday said the corporator has been suspended from the party with immediate effect.

    In the letter sent to the corporator, it was mentioned that the decision to expel her was taken after the Firozabad Mahanagar complained to the party’s state unit regarding her “behaviour”, he said.

    The child was stolen from a platform of the Mathura junction on August 24 and recovered by the Government Railway Police. Eight people, including Vineeta Agarwal and her husband, have been arrested in the case.

  • 14-year-old girl gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad, 3 detained 

    By PTI

    FIROZABAD: A 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by three men in a village here on Diwali night, police said on Monday.

    The teenager was forcibly taken to an agricultural field by three men when she was lighting earthen lamps outside her home on Thursday, according to a complaint lodged by the girl’s father.

    Superintendent of Police MC Mishra said the girl was recovered late in the night and she told her family members about the rape.

    An FIR was registered against Dharmveer, Naresh and Ashish on Sunday and the three of them were detained the next day.

    The police are recording the statement of the girl, Tundla Circle Officer Abhishek Srivastava said.

  • Vector control failure causing Uttar Pradesh fever outbreak

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  A Central team sent to western Uttar Pradesh last week to investigate a deadly outbreak of “mystery fever” has said in its report to the Union health ministry that poor hygiene and inadequate vector control may be leading to a surge in monsoon diseases this year.

    The cause of the fever that has claimed nearly 100 lives, mostly children, in Firozabad and adjoining districts has been identified as a combination of dengue, scrub typhus and leptospirosis — all spread through vectors.

    Firozabad and Mathura alone have recorded more than 1,000 cases in the last two weeks and the outbreak has also spread to some pockets of eastern UP and other parts. Firozabad has been worst affected and it reported as many as 105 fresh cases of dengue and viral fever on Sunday.

    A top official of the National Centre for Disease Control, which sent five officials to the states, told this newspaper that vector control measures during the rainy season look particularly bad this year. “I cannot comment on the reasons but it is poor vector control and bad hygiene in semi urban and urban areas that seems to be leading to this major outbreak of vector-borne diseases,” he said.

    Scrub typhus is a bacterial fever spread through bites from chiggers, or larval mites, found in bushes. Its symptoms include fever, headache and body ache, which later progress to rashes and inflammation of the nervous system which can cause confusion and even coma. Leptospirosis, also a bacterial disease, spreads through the urine of infected animals and has similar symptoms. Dengue, on the other hand, is a viral infection that spreads through the bite of infected mosquitoes and patients often suffer fever, muscle and joint pain. In extreme cases, blood platelet count drops, leading to internal bleeding and possible death.

    District health authorities in Firozabad have released Gambusia fish that feeds on mosquito larvae, in ponds around the district and asked schools not to hold classes till Class 8 till September 16. Samiran Panda, chief epidemiologist with ICMR, said long term measures like behaviour changes and raising awareness are a must to contain the viral outbreak during the rainy season that kills hundreds.

    Reports of viral fever in other states poured in too. In Delhi, while 104 dengue cases are reported every day, major government hospitals are recording 50-60 cases of viral fever a day, from 15-20 earlier. In Bihar, health department officials confirmed the sharp rise in cases of viral fever with symptoms of vector disease like dengue. Most of the patients are children brought after they experienced fever with body ache and other symptoms. At Patna AIIMS, which has 60 beds in paediatric wards, 80% are occupied with children down with viral fever.

    Maintaining hygiene in rainy season inadequateOfficials of the National Centre for Disease Control believe that maintaining hygiene in semi-urban and urban areas during the rainy season has been a problem,  leading to vector-borne diseases.

    Inputs from Somrita Ghosh (New Delhi), Namita Bajpai (Lucknow) and Rajesh Kumar Thakur (Patna)

  • Amid dengue and viral fever cases, UP launches door-to-door drive to combat vector-borne diseases

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: In order to combat water-borne diseases spreading with the receding floodwaters, the UP government launched a statewide surveillance drive from Tuesday. Under the drive, health officials will conduct a door-to-door survey to identify people with viral fever, Covid symptoms, and other diseases arising out of the seasonal vagaries.

    Uttar Pradesh has been in the grip of vector-borne diseases like dengue and viral fever which have claimed hundreds of lives so far in different districts with Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etah, Mathura, Kanpur, Agra, Gonda, being the prominent ones.

    On the other, around 66 teams of NDRF and SDRF along with Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) have been kept on high alert 24X7 across the sensitive flood-prone districts to minimize the impact of swollen rivers. These teams are working round the clock to mitigate the impact of floods in affected villages.

    To tackle the menace of vector-borne diseases, including viral fever and dengue, COVID-19 dedicated beds equipped with oxygen have been reserved for the treatment of inflicted patients.

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    According to health officials, arrangements have been made for additional beds, doctors, paramedical staff, medicines, and other equipment in the hospitals. In this regard, a 100-bed hospital has been ready in Shikohabad municipal area in Firozabad district which has been the worst affected so far.

    Moreover, to tackle the spread of infection, CM Yogi Adityanath has issued directives to health authorities against admitting unnecessary patients in the OPDs/IPDs of hospitals.

    “Make sure patients’ health updates are given to the family members at regular intervals. Patients and their relatives should be contacted through the CM Helpline too,” CM Yogi told the dealing authorities.

    The health teams have also been directed to spray anti-larva medicines and undertake fogging drives in the areas where more than one dengue patient is found.

    People are being sensitized to take precautionary measures and check mosquito breeding in and around their houses.

    Meanwhile, the state government has appointed nodal officers in every district to monitor the relief work in the areas affected by floods and heavy rains.

    Directives have been issued to ensure the supply of pure drinking water and distribute chlorine tablets in the flood-affected districts. Till now, around 22 lakh tablets of chlorine have been distributed in flood-affected areas.

  • Dengue, viral fever death toll climbs to 50 in UP’s Firozabad

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The death toll due to dengue and viral fever in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district mounted to 50 on Friday, even as a central government team reached here to take stock of the situation, officials said.

    Three fresh fatalities were reported in Firozabad as the inflow of patients continued in hospitals of the district in the grip of the epidemic.

    Considering the gravity of the problem, a six-member team of the Union health ministry arrived in Firozabad to look into all aspects of the disease, Additional Director (Health), Agra division A K Singh told PTI.

    “The central medical team under the leadership of Tushar N Nale from the Department of National Centre for Disease Control visited here to look at the situation,” Officiating Superintendent of Firozabad government medical college Alok Kumar Sharma said.

    The team is conducting an in-depth investigation into primary samples and other subjects along with collecting letters in the CMO office, Sangeeta Aneja, principal of the medical college said.

    Known for bangles and glass works, Firozabad is around 50 km from Agra and 320 km from the capital city of Lucknow.

    Some similar cases have also been found in neighbouring Mathura, Agra and Mainpuri, officials said.

    At a meeting in Lucknow, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the principal secretary (Medical Education) to camp in Agra and Firozabad districts to take stock of the situation, an official spokesperson said.

    The chief minister had paid a visit to Firozabad on Monday.

    Instructions have also been given to use isolation beds with the facility of oxygen reserved for Covid patients for the treatment of viral diseases, including dengue, he said.

    Chief Medical Officer Dinesh Kumar Premi, in a statement, said “so far, 50 people have died due to dengue and viral fever. Ten areas — nine blocks and a Nagar Nigam area — in the district are affected”.

    There are 36 active camps in the district and 3,719 people, including those who have fever, are undergoing treatment there, he said.

    Amid the rising death toll, District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh has made the chief development officer (CDO) the nodal officer of the district to oversee the treatment and other facilities for the patients.

    Singh had suspended three doctors with immediate effect on Thursday on charges of negligence and warned government doctors of strict action for any negligence in the treatment of the patients.

    Girish Srivastava of Primary Health Centre at Salai; Ruchi Srivastava, a public health expert; and Saurav were suspended.

    Firozabad’s Chief Medical Officer Neeta Kulshresth was removed on Wednesday following the spate of deaths, mostly of children, since August 18 due to suspected cases of dengue.

    Meanwhile, Sangeeta Aneja said 130 patients of dengue and viral outbreak were admitted in the pediatric ward as well as in the other wards of the Firozabad government medical college on Friday.

    As many as 68 patients were discharged from the hospital on Friday and 331 patients are being treated in various wards of the medical college, she said.

    The principal also said that in view of the increasing number of patients, another 100-bed unit is going to start Saturday morning in the medical college campus just opposite the 100-bed hospital in which doctors, ward boys and other staff have been deployed.

    According to the Additional Director (Health) Agra division, 49 samples had been sent from here to KGMU, Lucknow for testing, of which 43 were found to be dengue positive and leptospirosis has been found in two cases.

    No virus of any kind has been found in the remaining four cases, Singh said, adding that about four cases of dengue were found in Mainpuri in Agra division, but no death has been reported from there.

    In Mathura, he said, till date 54 cases of dengue were reported in which nine people have died.

    Two cases of dengue were found in Agra district and they are undergoing treatment and there is no news of any death from there, he added.

    The official also said that a team of ICMR is continuously collecting the larvae in the area and sending them to the National Pathology Virology Lab, Pune, and its report is awaited.

    In the investigation done so far, no variant has been found other than that of dengue and viral fever which matches coronavirus infection, he said. Aneja said the situation is likely to come under control and the spread of the epidemic will be controlled soon.

    Meanwhile, BJP MLA Manish Asija claimed that on the basis of information available with him, the death toll has climbed to 61. He said he is meeting the victims’ families and collecting information about the number of deaths.

  • ‘Mystery fever’ spreads to other districts in UP, experts call it vector-borne ‘scrub typhus’

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: After taking the Brij region and a few districts of western UP in its grip and claiming dozens of lives, the menace of the “mystery fever” with dengue-like symptoms has spread its tentacles to central UP districts including Lucknow and Kanpur.

    During the last 24 hours, hundreds of patients with dengue and viral fever-like symptoms have thronged various hospitals across Lucknow.

    At a time when the threat of the third wave of Covid is looming large, the “mystery fever” with cold, congestion, and decline in the platelet count, has taken many into its fold leading to a panic-like situation. However, the medical experts are suspecting it to be a vector-borne ‘scrub typhus’ bacterial disease.

    The worst-affected district is Firozabad where around 75 people have lost life to the disease during the last fortnight. A battery of 11 doctors, including some experts, was rushed to Firozabad to give better treatment to the victims of mystery fever.

    Moreover, a team of experts from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has also been pressed into service to test the samples of the patients. However, so far, no traces of COVID-19 have been found in the patients of mystery fever admitted to different hospitals in the district.

    While 17 casualties have been reported from Mathura, three from Mainpuri and two from Kasganj in central UP during the last 10 -12 days. Over 300-400 patients are still admitted to hospitals.

    The sources from Kanpur said that the mystery fever has claimed around 10 lives in the district in the last week. Moreover, in Gonda, patients suffering from fever and dengue-like symptoms are reaching hospitals in large numbers.

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    The health authorities are attributing the deadly fever to incessant rains, floods, and its aftermath which leads to the spread of vector-borne diseases. The patients are coming with prominent symptoms as fever, vomiting, loose motions, cold, congestion, and decline in the number of platelets. As per the sources, while in government hospitals, around 400 patients have got admitted in the last couple of days, private hospitals are also showing a rise in the number of admissions by 20 per cent.

    “People need to be very careful and alert against waterlogging, ensure cleanliness and stop the breeding of mosquitoes in and around their dwellings to ward off dengue and viral fever,” said Dr Sanjeev Kumar of Lokbandhu hospital.

    Meanwhile, CM Yogi Adityanath has ordered the launch of a state-wide surveillance drive from September 7 to 16 during which the health officials will go door-to-door to identify those with viral fever, Covid-19 symptoms, and other diseases arising out of the seasonal vagaries.

    Under this drive, nodal officers will be appointed in every district to monitor the relief work in the areas affected by floods and heavy rains. Stating that any kind of carelessness could spiral into a scary situation, the CM said that special efforts should be made to improve surveillance. The health department, rural, and urban development, and child development departments should stay alert and run special cleanliness campaigns with inter-departmental coordination.

    The health officials have been directed to spray anti-larva and undertake fog drives in the areas where more than one dengue patient is found. People are advised to take precautionary measures to check the breeding of mosquitoes in and around their houses.

    ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) reader-based NSI (in the first five days of symptoms) and IgM (after five days) are being used to test for dengue, said the health officials.

    For the prevention of Scrub Typhus, the government ordered the administration to cut bushes regularly and take immediate action to control rats. Required medicines have been provided to the patients. Parents are advised to dress children in clothing that covers arms and legs and use mosquito netting to avoid mosquito bites.

  • Centre rushes experts’ team as 30 kids die of ‘mystery fever’ in UP’s Firozabad in 10 days

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The National Centre for Disease Control under the Union Health Ministry has dispatched a team to Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh where a mystery fever is reported to have killed more than 30 children over a 10-day period.

    Firozabad district is currently treating the disease as a viral fever with dengue-like symptoms which include fever, chills, body ache, headache, dehydration, rapid decline in platelet count, stomach ache, and fluid retention in some cases. 

    While some kids who had died due to the unidentified disease tested positive for dengue, Covid was ruled out in every case as none of them tested positive for SARSCoV2. 

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    Authorities in the state government have said that while some cases and a few sporadic deaths have also been reported from adjoining districts, the biggest outbreak is in Firozabad where it has affected several villages. 

    Samples collected from sick children and those who have died have also been sent to Lucknow and the Pune-based National Institute of Virology under ICMR for further investigation and some doctors are speculating that this may be a new strain of dengue which is proving more fatal for kids.

    The state, however, is also looking at the possibility of the bacterial infection “Scrub Typhus”- a disease spread by rodents after six people died in Mathura from this disease.

    Scrub Typhus is a bacterial infection caused by the Orientia tsutsugamushi bacteria and infects humans after the bite of infected larval mites. 

  • UP: Firozabad DM orders closure of schools till Sep 6 after dengue outbreak in district

    By PTI

    FIROZABAD: Firozabad District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh has ordered closure of all schools for classes 1 to 8 till September 6 following the death of around 40 people, mostly children, due to suspected dengue in the past few days.

    The district magistrate, in his order issued on Monday night, said it will be applicable to all government and non-government schools as well as coaching institutions.

    He warned of strict action against anyone disobeying the order.

    Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who had visited some dengue patients in the district on Monday, said 32 children and seven adults have died till now.

    He had said that teams would be formed to ascertain the cause of the deaths.

    However, Firozabad MLA Manish Asija had told PTI on Sunday that more than 40 children have died due to dengue in the district since August 22.

    The chief minister had told reporters on Monday that the first case was detected on August 18 and family members of patients started their treatment in private hospitals and clinics.

    He had also said that samples from some patients should be sent to King George’s Medical University in Lucknow and National Institute of Virology in Pune.

    The chief minister had directed officials concerned to ensure proper sanitation in the district.

    He had also visited the 100-bed ward of the government hospital to meet the children affected by dengue and check the arrangements for their treatment.

  • Demand to rename Aligarh as Harigarh, Mainpuri as Mayan Nagar, Firozabad as Chandra Nagar

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The renaming spree has no end in UP. Now the newly-elected Zila panchayats are proposing to change the nameS of their respective districts — Aligarh, Mainpuri, and Firozabad.

    Passing a resolution to this effect, Aligarh Zila Panchayat sought to rename Aligarh as Harigarh at a panchayat meeting on Monday. The Zila Panchayat members claimed that it was a long pending demand of the people of Aligarh. The proposal was passed in the first meeting of the panchayat without any opposition with 50 out of 72 members in attendance.

    “It was a long pending demand to rename Aligarh as Harigarh. The Zila panchayat approved the proposal unopposed. It would now be forwarded to the state government for approval,” stated Vijay Singh, Zila panchayat chairman for Aligarh.

    A proposal was also passed to name the airport of Aligarh after BJP leader Kalyan Singh, informed the Zila panchayat chairman. Kalyan Singh, former UP CM and ex-Governor of Rajasthan hailed from the ‘city of locks.’ Aligarh division comprises Hathras, Etah, and Kasganj districts.

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    Similarly, the Zila panchayat of Mainpuri passed the resolution seeking to rename Mainpuri as Mayan Nagar. According to Zila panchayat members, Mayan Nagar is proposed to be named after sage Mayan who founded the present-day Mainpuri.

    “One of the Zila panchayat members had moved the proposal for renaming Mainpuri as Mayan Nagar and the proposal was passed with 23 members supporting the motion and two opposing it,” said Archana Bhadoria, Zila panchayat chairperson of Mainpuri.

    It was the first meeting of Mainpuri Zila panchayat after its constitution. Located near Isan river, Mainpuri is believed to be a bastion of Samajwadi Party (SP) patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has represented it five times in Lok Sabha.

    Earlier this month, the Firozabad district panchayat had also passed a resolution demanding that Firozabad be renamed as Chandra Nagar. Locals believed that King Chandrasen lived in Firozabad and because of this it was earlier known as Chandravar Nagar till about 1560 AD.

    As per the locals, the city of bangles and glass was renamed Firozabad from Chandravar Nagar when Firoz Shah, an emissary of emperor Akbar, visited the area and the place was renamed after him.

    The Firozabad Zila Panchayat members claimed that to rename Firozabad back as Chandra Nagar was being raised time and again.