Kolkata, Mar 7: Amid rising number of child deaths in West Bengal, primarily due to acute respiratory infection (ARI), the state's health department has cancelled leaves of all its staffers, an official said on Tuesday.
The department, in a notification, said: "All are to be present at their stations considering the present situation in the state. Fever clinics are to be kept functioning on 24X7 basis."
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Monday said 19 people have so far died due to ARI, including six children, who lost lives after being infected by adenovirus.
Adenoviruses are a group of viruses that typically cause respiratory ailments such as flu-like illness, common cold, conjunctivitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, or croup, an infection of the upper airway, which becomes narrow, making it harder to breathe.
She also urged people to start using face masks again to combat the menace.
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Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Eminent philosopher, spiritual leader Muni Narayana Prasad, who headed the famed Narayana Gurukula, passed away early Saturday, sources said.
He was 87.
He breathed his last while undergoing treatment for a brief ailment at a private medical college hospital in Venjaramoodu here, said sources at Narayana Gurukula, a Varkala-based philosophical and educational organisation inspired by the teachings of saint-social reformer Narayana Guru.
A recipient of the Padma Shri in 2024 and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for his contributions to literature and philosophy, Prasad was an engineering graduate before choosing the spiritual path.
He worked in the state government service before joining as an inmate in Gurukula, founded by Sree Narayana Guru's disciple Nataraja Guru in 1923.
Prasad later became the head of Gurukula following the demise of its then chief and prominent philosopher Nitya Chaitanya Yati.
An eminent scholar and a prolific writer, he wrote several books on various streams, especially on philosophy and spirituality.
People from various walks of life condoled Muni Narayana Prasad's demise.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in his condolence message, said that Muni Narayana Prasad was noted for propagating the Guru's teachings, critically interpreting his literary works, and delivering engaging lectures.
He described him as a scholar who deeply imbibed the philosophy of Sree Narayana Guru and presented it meaningfully to the world. He had the ability to communicate profound philosophical ideas in simple language, the CM noted.
Filled with humanism and a sense of equality in both words and actions, he influenced the thinking of many people, Vijayan said.
"With the passing of Muni Narayana Prasad, we have lost a teacher who taught society how to think," Vijayan added in his condolence message.
