Bihar encephalitis deaths: Upendra Kushwaha to launch protest march against state govt from 2 July, seeks Nitish Kumar's resignation

Patna (Bihar): Former Union Minister and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha on Sunday announced a protest march from Muzaffarpur to Patna against the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar. Kushwaha, a former ally of the BJP, has been demanding Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s resignation over recent encephalitis deaths in Muzaffarpur. [caption id=“attachment_5529621” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Upendra Kushwaha. PTI[/caption] “We will take out a rally from 2 July to 6 July. Despite being in power for 14 long years, Nitish Kumar failed to combat encephalitis. Our party has decided that with the support of the common man we will take out rallies. Nitish Ji must resign now. The name of this march is Nitish Hathao, Bhavishya Bachao (Remove Nitish, Save future),” he added. The toll in the acute encephalitis syndrome outbreak in Bihar has risen to 134. As per the official data, Muzaffarpur’s Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, which is handling the largest number of patients in the district, reported 113 deaths while there were 21 fatalities at Kejriwal Hospital. Encephalitis is a viral disease that causes flu-like symptoms such as high fever, vomiting and in extreme cases, brain dysfunction, seizure, and inflammation of heart and kidney The chief minister had announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the children who died due the disease. The state government has also directed the health department, district administration and doctors to take necessary measures to contain the disease.