Kolkata, Oct 31 (IANS): Dengue spread in West Bengal seems to be heading for an alarming proportion as the total number of affected people in the state have crossed 76,000 mark.

State health department said that, till October 24, the total number of dengue affected people in the state stands at 76,475. Last, year the total affected people stood at 67,271.

The maximum spike in the number of affected people had been in the 10-day period from October 14 and October 24, when around 9,000 newly affected people had been detected.

State health department said that besides Kolkata, the adjacent districts of North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Howrah are majorly affected districts. The situation is also alarming in districts like Hooghly, Malda and Murshidabad.

Meanwhile, the state health department is yet to release any official date about the deaths but unofficial estimates that at least 65 people have died so far due to the disease.

Opposition BJP is constantly claiming that the actual death figure has well crossed over 100 deaths. They also allege that often doctors, especially those attached to state-run hospitals or health centers are forced to report dengue deaths as “deaths due to unknown fever”.

Last month, a PIL was also filed in Calcutta High Court seeking the court’s intervention in ensuring proper administrative initiatives in arresting further spread of the disease.

The PIL was filed at a time when the Health and Family Welfare Ministry had accused the West Bengal Health Department of suppressing the actual figures relating to the number of affected people or the deaths.

On the other hand, the state government has accused the Central government of denying the necessary financial assistance.