The patient, Ashok Bhattacharya, is a resident of 25 Kanai Dhar Lane (ward 40), the same locality where a patient, Udit Das, died of malignant malaria three days ago.

Bhattacharya first tested positive for malignant malaria in a private clinic. On a local doctor’s suggestion, he went to the adjacent KMC clinic in his ward for getting medicine and treatment.

However, Bhattacharya was turned away by the health officials who said since he had got the test done at a private clinic, he could afford medicines from medical shops as well.

The patient returned home with no medicine and subsequently lost vision in one eye as the malaria affected the neuro-system of the eye.

“I was suffering from fever for a few days. I consulted the local doctor who asked me to get a blood test done and referred a laboratory in the area. I got the test done there and the report said I had malignant malaria,” Bhattacharya said.

“After I got back to the doctor with the report, he said I could get the medicines from the KMC clinic for free. Since, my financial condition is not good, I went to the KMC clinic but the health officials refused to give me the medicines. After waiting for a few days, I went to the School of Tropical Medicine and got the medicines. But, by then, the malignant malaria had affected my eye-sight. I have lost vision in one of my eyes,” Bhattacharya added.

A senior health official of the unit in ward 40 confirmed the incident, saying there was a communication gap between the patient and the official. “We have heard of the incident. We asked the official on duty at the time when Bhattacharya came here. He admitted his fault and apologised,” said the official requesting anonymity.

However, Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya has promised a probe. “This kind of incidents should not happen. The ward health units have been set up to help the people. I will order an inquiry into the incident. If the official is found guilty, he will be punished,” said the mayor.

Significantly, there is no sign of anti-larval work or cleaning operation visible in the locality. To protest against the lax attitude of the KMC, the locals have erected black flags on the entire street and put up posters against the civic authorities.

At least 5-7 persons in the area are affected by malaria and three, including Bhattacharya, have malignant malaria.