Now, Mamata Attacks Doctors

KOLKATA: TWENTY five persons have died and more than 2000 have tested positive for dengue in West Bengal as on September 5. Thousands are rushing into hospitals with symptoms and even private hospitals have run out of space to accomodate the patients. With this near epidemic continuing for over 25 days now, the TMC government in West Bengal is yet again in the mood of denial. The chief minister and her colleagues have termed the outbreak of this deadly disease as mere ‘propaganda’.

Faced with umpteen criticism over “failing” to tackle the dengue outbreak in the state and Kolkata in particular, Mamata Banerjee responded with a pat on her own back. She said her government’s performance in tackling the disease was much better than most southern states of the country where dengue deaths have been reported.

When asked about the toll, the chief minister said that she was quoting the number of dengue deaths reported from government hospitals and not the private clinics. “A false propaganda is on about the dengue situation (in the state). I am requesting each and everyone not to create panic. Death due to cardiac arrest is being portrayed as dengue death. This is not expected. Proper diagnosis and tests have to be conducted before declaring a person as a dengue victim,” she said.

With such comments on doctors, the chief minister has kicked off yet another controversy. Doctors have strongly reacted against this and asked the chief minister to let the doctors diagnose and treat.

Earlier, a minister Firhad Hackim has categorised the outbreak of dengue as ‘natural phenomenon’.

“The state government is suppressing the death figure, which is 23. Over 2,000 people are suffering from dengue. It is an epidemic,” said leader of opposition in the assembly, Surjyakanta Mishra. “The panicky government is now urging people not to get panicked,” he added.

State Congress chief Pradip Bhattacharjee also accused the government of not providing the accurate data. “We do not want politics over dengue situation,” he said.

In reality, there is a miserable failure on the part of state health department and TMC-run Kolkata Corporation to act. The city of Kolkata and adjoining areas witnessed stoppage of cleaning drives, clinics were over-crowded and there is dearth of staff everywhere. (INN)

Why is WB CM Mamata Banerjee silent?

TIMES NOW, 29 Oct 2011, 0937 hrs IST, AGENCIES

30 infants have died in 72 hours but that has still not prompted West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to come out and clarify on what her government is doing to stop babies from dying in government hospitals.

Thirteen newborns died in the Burdwan Medical College and four more at Kolkata's B C Roy Children's Hospital, which has witnessed a series of crib deaths, taking the toll in the two government hospitals in West Bengal to 30 on Friday.

Though the deaths have raised a question mark on the standard of healthcare in paediatric hospitals in the state, authorities claimed that it was not unusual.

Since Thursday, four babies died at the B C Roy Children's Hospital and 12 at the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, which also saw a death yesterday. "The one-to-three day-old babies were underweight and suffering from jaundice, encephalitis and septicaemia," Burdwan Medical College and Hospital Deputy Superintendent Tapas Kumar Ghosh said.

Deputy Director of Medical Education Susanta Banerjee and Health Commissioner Dilip Ghosh were sent by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the hospital.

Banerjee said that there was no medical negligence in the death of the babies as they were referred in a moribund stage and that one or two deaths occurred daily. He said that in two and half months the number of beds would be increased to 190 from the current 60.

The Deputy Medical Superintendent of the hospital said the doctors did their best to save the lives of the babies at the hospital where 160 infants were being treated against its capacity of 60 beds.

At the B C Roy Children's Hospital, another four babies died taking up the toll there to 17 in the last three days. "Four babies, referred to us in a critical condition, died since yesterday," its superintendent D Pal said. There was "nothing abnormal or unusual" in the death of babies, mostly below one month, Pal said, as they were admitted in extremely critical conditions.

Pal said on an average, five infant deaths occurred in the hospital of the daily admission of nearly 300, mostly referred by district hospitals.

Noting that the hospital was overburdened with patients referred from district hospitals, Pal maintained that the best of care was given to the babies admitted.

The health department earlier gave a clean chit to the B C Roy Children's Hospital after an internal inquiry. The Director of Medical Education said no lapse was found in the treatment of the babies, who were brought in a moribund state.  


http://www.timesnow.tv/videoshow/4387550.cms

Sixteen more babies die in WB govt hospitals; toll 29

The Asian Age, 28 Oct, 2011

Four more babies died at Kolkata's B.C. Roy Children's Hospital, which has witnessed a series of crib deaths, besides 12 newborns in the Burdwan Medical College, taking the death toll in two government hospitals in West Bengal to 29 today.

Though the crib deaths have raised a question mark on the standard of medical care in paediatric hospitals in the state, hospital authorities claimed that it was 'not unusual'.

Twelve babies have died at the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital in Burdwan district and four at the B.C. Roy Children's Hospital here since yesterday, authorities said today.

"The one-to-three days old babies were underweight and suffering from jaundice, encephalitis and septicemia," Burdwan Medical College and Hospital Deputy Superintendent Tapas Kumar Ghosh said.

Doctors did their best to save the lives of the babies, but all were born with critical complaints at the hospital where 160 infants were being treated against its capacity of 60 beds, he said.

In Kolkata, at the B.C. Roy Children's Hospital, another four babies died taking up the toll there to 17 in the last three days.

"Four babies, referred to us in a critical condition, died in the hospital in the last 24 hours," its superintendent D Pal said.

There was 'nothing abnormal or unusual' in the death of babies, mostly below one month, Pal said, as they were admitted in an extremely critical condition.

Pal said on an average, five infant deaths occurred in the hospital of the daily admission of nearly 300, mostly referred by district hospitals.

Stating that the hospital was overburdened with patients referred from district hospitals, Pal maintained that the best of care was given to the babies admitted.

But The health department yesterday gave a clean chit to the B.C. Roy Children's Hospital after an internal inquiry.

Director of Medical Education Sushanta Banerjee said no lapse was found in the treatment of the babies, who were brought in a moribund state.

WB government to constitute medical board

Kolkata, Jan 19 (PTI): Acting on Calcutta High Court directions, the West Bengal government today said it will pay compensation to the relatives of those killed and injured in the January 7 Lalgarh firing in West Midnapore district and also constitute a medical board."We have decided to constitute a medical board headed by Director Health Services comprising two medical officers.The board will examine the nature of injury, serious or otherwise so that the compensation amount can be fixed," Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh told reporters here.

The board will be functional by Saturday, Ghosh said.The high court has directed that the kin of those killed be paid Rs two lakh each, the seriously injured Rs one lakh each and those with minor injuries Rs 50,000 each within seven days.On the investigation, Ghosh said that since the court has directed that the investigation will be carried on by the CID, it has been asked to expedite the investigation under a senior officer and report to the state government."We will have to produce developments so far as investigation is concerned, to the court on February 4," Ghosh said.On armed camps, Ghosh said, "A joint team of police and central forces will look into the list of camps placed in court."

PTI SAG PC

Apollo may set up more hospitals in West Bengal

KOLKATA, 2nd Sept . 2010: Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd is in talks with Parkway Holdings of Singapore to set up more hospitals in West Bengal via their existing joint venture, a top official said here Thursday.

'Our agreement is for West Bengal only and we are looking at setting up more hospitals,' Apollo Hospitals managing director Preetha Reddy said on the sidelines of an event at the Institute of Company Secretaries.

The joint venture runs one hospital in India under Apollo Gleneagles brand in Kolkata.

Asked if Apollo has plans to expand the scope of joint venture with Parkway, Reddy said Apollo would remain a 'knowledge partner'.

Parkway is now owned by Khazanah, a soverign fund of Malaysia. Talking about the company's investment plans, she said it is pumping in Rs.1,800 crore in the next 24 months.

DOCTORS FOR PANCHAYATS IN BENGAL

KOLKATA(INN): The Bengal Left Front government has put in at the service of the rural people close to one thousand more doctors. This is in addition to the several thousands of medical practitioners already set in place in the villages, especially in the remote areas.

There shall now be at least one fully qualified doctor per Panchayat. The move, we strongly believe, shall take the state government ever-closer to the rural masses as an ongoing process of pro-people action. The state government has been of the view that the residences of the doctors should be close to the place of work for benefits that shall be two-way.

It is mortifying to note that all districts except south 24 Parganas – where the Zillah Parishad is controlled by Didi’s men – had put in the requisition forms for the number of doctors they would like to have, mentioning in the process the gaps and lacunae at the level of the villages. Thus, south 24 Parganas shall be bereft of the additional component of medical practitioners, this time around.

The process of how the villages themselves fix requirement quota for doctors is interesting enough to cite as an example of people’s power. There is a committee at the level of the Panchayat samity. The Sabhapati of the Panchayat Samity chairs the committee; the Block Development Officer is the convener. The committee includes such other functionaries as the Karmadhyakhsha of the mass health committee; the Pradhans of the concerned Gram Panchayats; the Block medical Officer; and an experienced medical practitioner.

This committee sits and decides on how many health officers are required where. The work follows the rural health mission guidelines. Interestingly, the medical practitioners/doctors being posted include allopath doctors, homeopaths, yunani practitioners, and ayurvedic doctors.

(B PRASANT)

MP Birla group to go for major expansion of healthcare venture

KOLKATA, JUNE 23: The MP Birla group has decided to go for a major expansion of its healthcare venture. The group, which runs reputed hospitals like BelleVue Clinic in Kolkata and Bombay Hospital in Mumbai, has decided to set up three new multi-speciality hospitals — one in Kolkata and two each in Rajasthan. The group is now finalising the investment outlay. For starters, the group is scouting for 5-to-6 acres in Rajarhat for the Kolkata facility which will have more than 200 beds. While it has sought land in Rajarhat from the West Bengal government, the group is also exploring options to acquire land on its own. "The Kolkata hospital will provide world-class healthcare to patients from the economically weaker sections of society. The cost of the service will be priced accordingly," said Harsh Vardhan Lodha, trustee and member of the managing committee of Belle Vue Clinic and son of the erstwhile MP Birla Group chairman Late R. S. Lodha. On the other hand, the two proposed hospitals in Rajasthan will come up in Jaipur and Chittorgarh. The group has already acquired seven acres in Jaipur from the Rajasthan government. "The Jaipur hospital will have more than 300 beds. On an average, we will invest around Rs 10-15 lakh per bed for these facilities," said Mr Lodha. The MP Birla group also operates a speciality eye care venture in Kolkata, Priyamvada Birla Aravind Eye Hospital, Bombay Hospital in Indore, and M.P. Birla Vikas Hospital and Priyamvada Birla Cancer Research Institute, both in Satna. It plans to expand the Belle Vue Clinic by increasing number of beds and foraying into newer specialities. "We are adding 60 new beds by setting up a mother and child care department comprising maternity unit and a neonatal intensive care unit. This apart, there will be a 26-bed invasive cardiac unit with provision for Cath Lab and a dedicated cardiac operation theatre. The total investment on this expansion will be around Rs 20 crore," said Mr Lodha.

Medical aid to West Bengal cyclone victims

South 24 Pargana (WB), June 9: Army has set up medical camps for the displaced victims of cyclone Aila, residing in the relief camps in South 24 Pargana district near the Sunderban Islands in West Bengal.

Thousands are suffering from gastroenteritis triggered by the consumption of infected water. Medical units of Indian army are treating the people in several medical camps in the district. The Army Medical Unit of Bengal Area and Eastern Command have set up several medical camps in the district. There is no official confirmation of deaths in the region but villagers claim that some have lost their lives due to diarrhoea and even cattle are affected by it.

‘Generally in the flood areas, diarrhoea crops up and here also it is the same. But it is under control here as we are providing medical aid to the patient’s daily. There is no official report of death due to diarrhoea. But we have heard that there are two human deaths and cattle have also died because of it. This is because of the contaminated water in the village,’ said Cornel M.K. Samanta, medical officer, Indian Army.

The medical officers are treating and providing medicines to the affected people since June 4. The 12 medical teams are visiting the affected places of the district. Several areas in the Sunderban Islands are still inundated with floodwater. Many people have been unable to find refuge in relief camps.

South 24 Pargana district in particular continues to reel under the devastating affects of the cyclone. Thousands of people in West Bengal and Bangladesh remained marooned without food or water after cyclone Aila hit them. It originated over the Bay of Bengal on May 25.The cyclone has killed at least 275 people, but officials say the toll could mount due to epidemics.

Rs 1000 cr Health city in Bardhaman, will require 8000

New Delhi, May 21st, 2009: FAITH Healthcare Private Limited, one of India’s first private Human Development consulting companies has announced the launch of an Rs.1000 crore Health City Project at Bardhaman, West Bengal.

FAITH Healthcare, which has been actively involved in delivering human development projects working in partnership many global developmental organizations, has entered into a Public Private Partnership with the Bardhaman Development Authority in association with Bengal CES Infratech Pvt. Ltd. to develop the world class Health City at Bardhaman.

The project once completed is expected to generate approximately 8 million man-days of work during the execution phase over the next 5 years and provide direct employment to around 1400 people for operation and maintenance of the Health City. Once completed the Health City would require around 8000 professionals including doctors, health specialists, nurses paramedics and other support staff.

The Health City will comprise a state-of-the-art 500 bed specialty hospital, Center of Excellence for various Super Specialties, , Pharmacy, Telehealth Institute, Rehabilitation center, Medical college, Mother and Child health center hostels for staff & students, convenience stores, recreational facilities and other civic amenities.

Prof. S. S. Chakraborty, Chairman, FAITH Healthcare Private Limited said “We will march ahead with faith and commitment to Human Development through our initiatives…”.

New oral cholera vaccine holds promise

New Delhi, April 10: A new low-cost oral vaccine against cholera, whose production technology has been transferred to India, could soon be made available to the people in the country’s endemic areas to help them gain immunity against the disease, which kills about 120,000 people globally every year.

“After 38 years of drought in cholera vaccination and cholera outbreaks not abating, it is very heartening to know that there is an affordable orally administered vaccine available now,” health ministry advisor N.K. Ganguly said Friday. He was participating in a policymakers’ meeting here Friday on the “Introduction of cholera vaccination using new-generation oral cholera vaccines in India”.

The vaccine, after trials and evaluation on a sample size of 70,000 people in Kolkata “has been found to provide over 60 percent protection and no decline in protection over two years”, John D. Clemens, director general of the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute (IVI), said at a press conference after the meeting.

Half of those in the sample size were given the new vaccine while the others were given placebos.
The IVI, which developed the vaccine, Feb 24 transferred its production technology to Hyderabad’s Shanta Biotech after the Drugs Controller General of India licensed this. “It is a simple vaccine that can be delivered orally through a syringe. It is well adapted and cost effective as on bulk production, its cost comes down to a dollar per dose,” Clemens pointed out.
“It has been found to be effective in all age groups,” he added.

According to Health Secretary V.M. Katoch, the policymakers’ meeting was a “scientific open forum which debated the various aspects of vaccine and recommended that the health ministry first introduce it in a guided manner in cholera endemic areas of West Bengal and Orissa. “Based on the experience gained, it could be expanded to other areas,” Katoch, who also heads the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), added.

He also pointed out that the vaccine would be recommended as a supplement to conventional tools like safe drinking water and sanitation in the battle against cholera and not its replacement to prevent cholera.

Describing the vaccine as “very innovative”, Ganguly, a former ICMR chief, said it incorporated all the important genes required to make it very selective and more effective without harming the intestines in any way.“It is designed to prevent even severe infections caused by various mutants of the cholera virus,” he added.

According to Clemens, the new vaccine meets international good manufacture practiced and the standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).And, with the new vaccine having global applications, India could become one of its four to five manufacturing hubs, Clemens pointed out. Representatives of ICMR, the health ministry, the Department of Biotechnology, the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases and IVI attended the policymakers’ meeting.

Medical college doctors perform miracle surgery in West Bengal

KOLKATA, Thursday, 15th January, 2009: A team of doctors at the Kolkata government medical college successfully operated on a youth who had been pierced by a six-foot-long iron shaft in a road accident. Sheikh Rezzak Ali, 22, survived a head-on clash with a speeding truck Wednesday morning at Arambag in Kolkata's neighbouring Hooghly district. An iron rod had pierced his right lung in the accident.

The seven-member medical specialist team, headed by surgeon Siddhartha Mukherjee, performed the two-hour long critical surgery at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital Wednesday to remove the shaft. Mukherjee said Ali showed immense courage and stamina. He was not nervous and did not even faint after suffering the fatal accident.'It helped us to save him,' the doctor added.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Thursday congratulated the doctors and said he wanted to meet them.Ali was driving a Tata Sumo to Arambag with his brother Sheikh Rajak and some neighbours when a truck rammed into them at Shirakol. An iron shaft shot out of the truck, smashed through the windscreen and speared Ali. Rajak managed to pull Ali out of the car and first took him to a nursing home nearby.

Later, he was taken to the state-run Kolkata Medical College and Hospital. A similar accident took place in the national capital in July last year when an engineer, Supratim Dutta, was impaled by an iron beam that perforated seven of his organs. Dutta survived as the beam had narrowly missed his heart, but needed a series of complicated surgeries.

Kolkata gets cord blood bank

KOLKATA: A cord blood bank - a source of stem cells for transplantation to cure a range of diseases - was opened here Tuesday.This is the first Indian facility launched by Cordlife Ltd, a Singapore-based cord blood banking group.

'The first Cordlife facility in India, with a storage capacity of up to 1,50,000 cord blood units, has been set up at Bishnupur area on the outskirts of Kolkata. There are two additional centres - at Siliguri town in West Bengal's Darjeeling district and Durgapur in Burdwan district - for blood collection,' group CEO Steven Fang told reporters here.Fang said stem cell therapies will also be developed at the Kolkata centre.'Cord blood has become a very common source of stem cells for transplantations. Permanent cures are possible for some diseases using stem cell therapies,' he said.'

At present, the Rs.100 million facility will be used only for storing and preserving cord blood. But within 18 months we will develop stem cell therapies for treating various diseases like heart ailments, diabetes, skin trauma, certain cancers like leukaemia and breast cancer, and blood disorders like thalassemia major,' Fang said.

Cordlife will invest Rs.300 million in 18-24 months to set up similar facilities across India.'First, we are targeting the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore followed by tier-two cities,' said Meghnath Roy Chowdhury, managing director (MD), Cordlife Sciences India Pvt Ltd.Cord blood, which is also called 'placental blood', is the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta following birth and after the cord is cut. Cord blood is routinely discarded with the placenta and umbilical cord.However, the cord blood, with its rich sources of blood stem cells, can be used to treat over 80 diseases.

West Bengal gets its first trauma care unit

Kolkata, 7 December: A private hospital has started West Bengal's first Trauma Care Unit (TCU) to deal with the rapidly increasing road traffic accidents here particularly in the EM Bypass area, the eastern part of the city, authorities said. Ruby General Hospital, located in north-eastern Kolkata, inaugurated the TCU Thursday evening.

"This TCU is one of its kind in West Bengal. We decided to start this unit after getting about 126 accident cases a month in the area since the beginning of 2008," Chairman and Managing Director of the hospital Kamal K. Dutta told newspersons Friday. He said most of the deaths from road accidents can be prevented if the victims are attended to in time.

"We have seen that a majority of the road accident victims die during the 'Golden Hour' (the time period of one hour in which the lives of a majority of critically injured trauma patients can be saved if definite surgical intervention is provided) as it takes a considerable time for them to reach hospitals."

"Hence we have strategically located the TCU at the accident-prone zone near EM Bypass," Dutta said. The TCU is equipped with 15 trauma surgeons. There are provisions for all major surgeries including general, neuro and plastic surgeries.

According to WHO predictions, if a concerted effort is not made to improve the services by 2020, there will be 147 percent increase in road traffic accident (RTA) deaths in India. India has one percent of the world's vehicles, but six percent of the total global RTA deaths.

West Bengal to extend reach of schools for child labourers

Kolkata, December 4, 2008: The West Bengal government will extend the reach of more than 850 special schools meant for child labourers to help them enter the mainstream education, an official here said.”We are trying to ensure that children who stop working after certain interventions should be admitted to these special schools run under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP). So far, at least 44,000 child labourers have benefited from these schools,”

Trilochan Singh, principal secretary of the department of labour in the state government, told mediapersons on the sidelines of a regional consultation here recently. “These schools run bridge courses. Those child labourers, who stop working, study here and then they are admitted to the mainstream schools where the can continue their education,” Singh said.

The regional consultation was organised by the state’s labour department, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and UNICEF on the ‘abolition of child labour and attainment of Children’s Right to Education’.

The meet focused on bringing together different stakeholders to work out some possible solutions towards achieving these aims. The 2001 census report estimates that nearly 857,086 children are working in the state, which violates the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which India acceded in 1992.

DPT, Hepatitis-B shots in short supply

KOLKATA, 19 November, 2008: Bengal has been severely hit by a shortage of DPT and Hepatitis-B vaccines. The countrywide shortage for the past six months has upset Universal Immunisation Programmes (UIP) in various states, including West Bengal.

In Kolkata, more than 6,00,000 children, from newborns to the age of five, are under risk. These children, a section of whom are slum-dwellers , cannot afford to buy these vaccines in the open market as these are costly. DPT and Hepatitis-B are priced between Rs 600 and Rs 1,000 but are not readily available for bulk supply.

Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss banned the manufacture of these vaccines six months ago on grounds of 'poor quality control' . There are only three state-run units that manufacture them - Pasteur Institute in Coonoor, the BCG Laboratory in Chennai and Central Research Institute in Kasauli. Since then, the state health department and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation authorities have been urging the Union health minister to resume supply of these vital vaccines.

Even CPM Politburo member Brinda Karat took up the matter with Rajyasabha so that West Bengal could again receive its normal supply of vaccines. KMC doctors expressed apprehension that for want of these vaccines , the entire immunisation programme would get marred. "If we fail to supply these vaccines, particularly the hepatitis vaccine, enteric diseases will spread fast and could assume epidemic proportions ," a KMC health official said on Tuesday.

However, so far, there has been a lukewarm response from the Centre . According to a senior KMC health department official, the Centre had failed to keep its promise. "The Centre had assured us that the supply of DPT and Hepatitis-B vaccines would be normalised from October this year. However, we have received a very negligible quantity of these vaccines till date," the chief municipal health officer Debdwaipayan Chattopadhyay said on Tuesday.

Till October 27, West Bengal alone reported a shortage of a whopping 88.49 % in DPT vaccines and 63.64 % in Hepatitis B vaccines . Though DPT doses were sent to the state earlier this month, the shortage, continued to be severe, said a KMC doctor associated with the immunisation programme. "It would also appear that the DPT and DT programmes are virtually scrapped, at least in these states." he said.

‘Increase expenditure on public health’: Surya Kanta Mishra

Kolkata, 3rd Nov: Public expenditure on health should be increased to 2-3 per cent of GDP of the country, up from the present level of 1 per cent, Surya Kanta Mishra, West Bengal Health Minister, said here on Saturday.

“Public expenditure on health has been hovering around 0.9 per cent for several years now, it has to be taken up to 2-3 per cent of GDP,” he told the Health Economic Summit organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

There are 700,000 registered doctors and a million nurses in the country. However, there is still a shortage of 500,000 skilled manpower, said Amit Ghose, Chairman of the BCCI Health sub-committee. More than 80 per cent of the population in India does not have any health insurance policy coverage, Ghose pointed out.

West Bengal gets only half its vaccine requirement

New Delhi (PTI): Following the closure of three key vaccine manufacturing facilities, the Centre is finding it difficult to meet the requirement of states like West Bengal which are receiving only 50 per cent of the some requisite vaccines needed under Universal Immunisation Programme.

The state is facing acute shortage of essential vaccines, which protect children against several life-threatening diseases, resulting from irregular and inadequate supply from the Centre.

Last year, 1,19,66,436 DPT vaccines, which protects Dyptheria, Pertusis and Tetanus, were needed in West Bengal, but it received only 80,12,020 -- a shortage of about 33 per cent. During current financial year, only about five lakh DPT vaccines were received by the state.

In the first six months of this fiscal the state has received only 7,10,750 measles vaccines as against the demand of 14,96,000 during the period. The TT-PW vaccine requirement was 32,91,000 but only 16,99,400 were received showing a shortage of about 50 per cent.

The condition is similar with other key vaccines like BCG and DT which are also facing short supply.

The issue was raised by State Health Minister Surjya Kanta Mishra during a meeting with Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday.

"The licenses of Central Research Institute of Kasauli, Pasteur Institute Coonur and BCG Vaccine Laboratory, Chennai have been suspended without making alternative arrangements for ensuring supply of vaccines," Mishra told Ramadoss.