Chandigarh: Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday expressed concern over the increasing cases of dengue in the state alleging that while the official figure of dengue cases is about 6,000, but the real number is many times bigger.

Hooda held that there were hardly any beds in the hospitals for the patients, nor were they getting proper treatment. The disease is continuously taking lives of people but the ruling BJP government is in deep slumber’’, he held and added that the dengue can be avoided if prevented in time.

Hooda further accused the government of failing to get the fogging done in time to eliminate dengue larvae and held that the BJP, however, was busy celebrating the formation of their new government last month.

Referring to the latest report of CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) itself, Hooda alleged that it is clear from the report that instead of providing health services and doctors to the citizens, the government is engaged in carrying out scams worth crores.

He held that the CAG report says that playing with the lives of the people, the government also purchased medicines and equipment from blacklisted companies. The government has also paid Rs 5.67 crore to 15 such agencies, whose medicines have been proved substandard many times.

“Ever since the BJP has come to power, it has completely ignored the education and health system of the state. This is the reason that today about 30% of the posts of doctors and 42% of health workers are lying vacant in the state,” he added.