KCR defends his deputy's response

HYDERABAD: Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday defended his deputy and health minister Dr T Rajaiah on his responses thus far to the swine flu crisis.
Answering a question at a news briefing on why the health minister played down the swine flu crisis and gave out number of victims that differed widely from what was being reported in the media, KCR said Rajaiah was providing information that was available to him and that he did all he could on the issue.
Rajaiah, in an informal chat with some reporters after the chief minister's briefing, said that the swine flu victim numbers he was providing may have been at odds with what media was reporting but that was because he received the data only from government hospitals. Private and corporate hospitals send their data to the government only once a month, he added.
Earlier in the day, the officials of the state health department received an earful from the chief minister over the swine flu cases in the city and the state.
The chief minister who met health officials for an extensive review on the spread of the disease, reportedly expressed his deep displeasure at the lack of cohesive response to the swine flu cases, the piecemeal approach of the health department and the lack of clear communication by the health department to the media on the actual number of swine flu cases on a daily basis. He also reportedly expressed displeasure at the handling of the entire issue by the health minister.