New Delhi: Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader Santosh Suman Manjhi on Sunday staged a protest in Delhi and demanded the resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the state health minister Mangal Pandey over the deaths of nearly 150 children owing to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur over the past two months.
Manjhi, the elder son of former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi attributed the deaths to malnourishment instead of AES and accused the government of covering their failure to address the issue of malnourishment.
"You all are aware of the situation in Bihar, particularly in Muzaffarpur where children from poor families are dying. As per our observation, the children who have lost their lives or are being diagnosed with AES are those suffering from malnourishment, " said Manjhi while speaking to ETV Bharat.
He further said, "the government has attributed the deaths of so many children to a disease called AES instead of acknowledging the fact that the deaths have occurred owing to malnourishment."
"We strongly believe that it is a case of malnourishment and the government must take moral responsibility and resign, particularly the Health Minister, " added Manjhi.
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As many as 136 children have died due to AES at Sri Krishna Medical Colleg and Hospital (SHMCH) in Muzaffarpur and more than 25 are still undergoing treatment at different hospitals. Altogether 824 children with AES-like symptoms were taken to the hospitals across the state and 609 of them had been found suffering from the same disease. More than 156 AES-related deaths have been reported in the state this year.
