Ghaziabad students call strike over swine flu mismanagement

Ghaziabad, Feb 24 (IANS) Students of three engineering colleges here went on a strike and forced their respective managements to shut the institutions till precautionary measures against swine flu are in place.

The students of Ideal Institute of Engineering Technology, Krishna Institute of Engineering and Technology and Raj Kumar Goel Institute of Engineering and Technology (RKGIT) boycotted classes and accused the management of not taking steps to check the epidemic.

"The district magistrate (DM) himself has come under the grip of this dreaded disease and was admitted in a private hospital. It is evident that the government is not equipped to tackle this disease."

The private institutes, where thousands of students study, operate without any protective measures. This is the apathy of the government.... wreaking havoc on the lives of students. We have therefore boycotted classes and have forced the management to shut shop till the necessary measures are taken," said Gaurav Singh, a student of RKGIT.

Additional District Magistrate Richhpal Singh said: "We have written letters to the private institutes to take precautionary measures so that a sense of confidence is created among the students and panic is not allowed to spread.

Directives have been issued to the public to maintain health and hygiene said Ghaziabad Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Ajay Agrawal.

The city magistrate said the chief medical officer has also been asked to inspect the hospitals and ensure that proper arrangements have been made to tackle the disease.

Out of 366 cases 44 have tested positive in Ghaziabad.

Most cases, however, have been referred to Delhi as local hospitals do not possess adequate amenities.

"Although an isolation ward has been made ready, our hospital lacks the facilities to treat patient suffering from haemorrhagic symptoms of swine flu," said Sandeep Panwar, chief medical superintendent of Combined Hospital.

Earlier, the staff and the family members, who were in immediate contact with the DM were tested for swine flu as well.