Bhubaneswar: Health minister Damodar Rout today claimed that as compared to the number of deaths occurred due to dengue disease last year; the death toll has been restricted this year.

Announcing this at the State Secretariat here after attending a high level review meeting on remedial measures for arresting spread of vector and water diseases, at the State Secretariat here,

Rout said that the government has been able to arrest the dimension of the spread of the vector-borne disease due to constant monitoring of various measures undertaken in this regard.

He said that a decision has been taken to constitute an inter-departmental coordination committee under the chairmanship of the chief secretary involving other departments including rural development, health & family welfare, panchayati raj and woman & child development.

The committee will work out modalities for the prevention activities, Rout pointed out.

Giving statistical information, the health minister said that while 31 persons had died of dengue last year, it has been confined to four this year, he said.

The preventive measures taken up in Talcher region and Bhograi in Balasore district helped in keeping the disease under check in unaffected areas, he added.

Chief secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik who presided over the meeting suggested implementation of preventive measures in a project mode with a three year prospective plan.

He also suggested increasing number of animators and educators at ground level.

Among others, rural development minister B K Arukh, health and family welfare secretary P K Mohapatra, director, women and child development Sujata Karthikeyan, and director, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) Pramod Meherda were present at the meeting.