The Japanese Encephalitis has claimed 54 lives in Malkangiri district of Odisha in just a more than a month. The State Government yesterday appointed senior bureaucrat Nruparaj Sahu as Officer on Special Duty to monitor and oversee the measures to check the spread of Japanese Encephalitis. Sanu has been asked to oversee the welfare works aimed at checking the JE virus.
He would be camping in Malkangiri for two months for effective coordination between departments in order to bring the menace under control, official sources said. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today would review the situation at the State Secretariat to take a final call on the option of culling of infected pigs. Around 40 children are now undergoing treatment at the Malkangiri district hospital.