Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey asks ‘what’s the cricket score?’

At a time when Bihar is grappling with Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), which has claimed the lives of 126 children in Muzaffarpur, the state Health Minister Mangal Pandey was on Sunday caught on camera asking the score of India-Pakistan cricket match during a meeting held to discuss the situation.

Pandey was busy in a meeting with Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and his deputy Ashwini Kumar Choubey when he appeared more concerned about the cricket match and was heard asking about the score of the match. “Kitne wickets gaye? (How many wickets have been taken?),” Pandey can be heard saying. Dr Harsh Vardhan had called the meeting after he visited the families of ailing children admitted at hospitals in Muzaffarpur. Encephalitis, called ‘Chamki’ fever in Hindi, is a viral disease, which causes mild flu-like symptoms.