Emphasising the need for setting up a centre of excellence for Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Dr R N Singh — the chief campaigner of the Encephalitis Eradication Movement — has requested five MPs to pursue the matter.

A private practitioner from Gorakhpur, Singh has written to MPs like Harshwardhan Singh, Kamal Kishore, Yogi Aditya Nath, Jagdambika Pal and R P N Singh to pursue the matter since the state government allegedly has not taken interest in it.

The state government instead has approved Lucknow’s Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences as a centre of excellence for encephalitis, he added. “The SGPGI is very far from this place. The need to have such a specialised centre in eastern UP is that it will help treat the affected people from here,” Singh said. He added that so far, 2,509 encephalitis patients have been admitted in Gorakhpur medical colleges only. Among them, 484 children have already succumbed to the disease.

Earlier, Singh had written a letter in blood to AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister and Union Minister of Health to draw their attention to the problems of the region. Out of the various demands that he had raised, the Centre had agreed to have another special JE drive in the eastern UP.