Dengue grips Himachal town
Shimla, July 8 : With over 110 confirmed dengue cases reported in less than a week from the town of Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, a central team is reaching there to deal with the situation, officials said on Sunday.
However, no death has been reported so far.
"A team deputed by Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda is reaching Bilaspur to ensure effective steps to check its further spread," a senior health official told IANS.
Bilaspur is Nadda's hometown.
State Health Minister Vipin Parmar is also visiting Bilaspur to take stock of the situation.
"We are taking all precautions to check further rise in the number of cases that include making people aware of the steps they need to take to minimise its spread," the official told IANS, adding there was no need to panic.
"Testing kits are available in adequate numbers in all government hospitals and dispensaries. Even private hospitals have also been directed to use the recommended kits only," he said.
The Regional Hospital in Bilaspur, some 60 km from capital Shimla, is getting five to 10 dengue cases daily.
Besides Bilaspur, the disease has spread to nearby towns like Ghumarwin and Jhanduta.
"We are monitoring the situation. We have started fogging and holding awareness campaigns to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes," Bilaspur Deputy Commissioner Vivek Bhatia said.
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Minor protests reported in Kerala polling over bogus vote allegations
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Assembly polling across Kerala progressed largely peacefully, but protests were reported at several booths on Thursday over allegations of bogus voting.
A minor scuffle broke out between Congress and BJP activists at Manalur in Thrissur district after UDF candidate T N Prathapan arrived in the area.
According to police, BJP activists prevented people accompanying Prathapan from entering the booth premises, leading to the scuffle.
In Wadakkanchery, also in Thrissur district, a voter, Sajeev, was unable to cast his vote after election officials informed him that his vote had already been recorded as a postal ballot.
This triggered protests by BJP activists, prompting police intervention.
Although election officials offered to allow him to cast a tender vote, he declined.
BJP candidate T S Ullas Babu later arrived at the booth and staged a protest.
A similar incident occurred in Kuttiady, Kozhikode district, where a woman was denied the right to vote after it was found that her vote had already been cast as a postal ballot.
At Malampuzha and Shoranur in Palakkad district, Thrikkaripur in Kasaragod, and Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram, complaints emerged that votes had been cast in the names of original voters, leading to protests.
The affected voters were later permitted to cast tender votes.
If a voter arrives at the polling station and finds someone has already voted in their name, they can inform the presiding officer. After satisfactorily proving their identity with valid documents, the voter is allowed to cast a tendered ballot instead of using the voting machine.
In Kalpetta, Wayanad, a polling agent was removed after it was found that she was simultaneously working as an ASHA worker.
In a separate incident in Uduma, Kasaragod, a Congress agent was caught using "smart spectacles" inside a polling booth.
At a polling booth in Badaje, Manjeshwar, Kasaragod, a defect was noticed in a voting machine that recorded more votes than were actually polled.
Polling in all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala commenced at 7 am.
The crucial elections will decide whether the ruling LDF will secure a straight third term, whether the UDF will make a comeback, or whether the BJP will spring a surprise in an otherwise bipolar contest.
