Presentation made on AES survey before Nitish Kumar

Patna: A presentation was made before Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the findings of a survey conducted on families affected by Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), an official release has said.

The viral disease had claimed the lives of more than 150 children in the state, especially in Muzaffarpur which alone witnessed over 130 deaths in its two hospitals.

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The state government had ordered a socio-economic survey to ascertain the condition of the families when the children's deaths were reported first in June.

The survey was conducted on 538 affected families in five blocks of Muzaffarpur district apart from other AES-affected districts, the release said quoting Bala Murugan D, the chief executive officer of Jeevika -- a rural livelihood programme of the state government.

The CEO said an action plan has been proposed for the five worst affected blocks of Muzaffarpur.

All children below the age of five would be enrolled at anganwadi centres within three months besides ensuring availability of ration cards for the affected families, the release said on Wednesday.

On the basis of the survey, it has been decided that families of all five blocks will be given the benefit of Mukhya Mantri Awas Yojana if they are not eligible for Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana, the release said.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Health Minister Mangal Pandey, Rural Development Minister Shravan Kumar, Social Welfare Minister Ram Sewak Singh, Food and Consumer Protection Minister Madan Sahni were present during Wednesday's meeting, along with top officials, including Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar.

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(PTI)