04 September,2012 07:29 PM IST | | Agencies
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday advised the youth to avoid going on a diet as it lowers the immunity system and leads to ailments like dengue.
"I appeal to all of you, my young friends, not to go on diet, especially during the current season. Because, when you go on diet, your immunity system goes down, and you may be struck by diseases like dengue," she said, at the state secretariat Writers' Building.
The Bengal CM said, "In the name of dieting, if you cut down on your food intake, if you have less oil here and less spices there and eat less, you can easily get affected by dengue."
Mamata Banerjee has doneu00a0
"Keep on hold your crash diet plans. Eat plenty of food, take plenty of water," she said, while briefing the media about the dengue outbreak in the state.
Of course, West Bengal's Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim seemed to have been struck even worse by the foot-in-mouth syndrome, saying "The government has nothing to do to stop spreading of dengue as the outbreak is controlled by the nature's law".
The number of confirmed dengue cases in West Bengal has shot up to at least 643, with 80 per cent of the patients residing in Kolkata and its adjoining North 24 Parganas district. The disease has claimed at least three lives so far.u00a0
