On Thursday night, August 10, a passel of children slipped away one after the other. This tragic event took place after hospital's oxygen supply has been disrupted in Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital. The hospital, located in northern Indian state Uttar Pradesh, is situated in a poverty-stricken area of the state's eastern part — Gorakhpur.
Associated Press Doctors treat a child in Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital | Photo from The Journal Gazette
Reportedly, death toll rises to 72 as of writing as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Health Minister J P Nadda visited the hospital on Gorakhpur last Sunday.
In a tweet, the child advocate and Indian Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi said "30 kids died in hospital without oxygen. This is not a tragedy. It's a massacre," adding "Is this what 70 years of freedom means for our children?".
In a tweet, the child advocate and Indian Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi said "30 kids died in hospital without oxygen. This is not a tragedy. It's a massacre," adding "Is this what 70 years of freedom means for our children?".
Kailash Satyarthi's tweet | Screenshot from The Independent
India is about to celebrate the 70th independence anniversary from Britain on August 15, Tuesday.
Taking the total count of fatality to 72, a four-year-old boy struggling with encephalitis died Sunday. The government officials already ordered for ‘magisterial inquiry’ regarding the incident, report says. Currently, the government suspended the medical college principal Rajeev Mishra on Saturday for supposedly delaying payment to oxygen supplier.
Asking a team of top ministers to look into what seem to be a case of manslaughter, the Chief Minister is certainly determined to identify whether the children’s cause of death was due to oxygen supply that allegedly ran dangerously low.
In addition, the same said on Saturday that “We have suspended the principal of the BRD Medical College and taking him guilty for his actions and an investigation on him has already been ordered and is underway. Those found guilty won’t be spared”.
UP Health Minister Sidhartha Nath Singh in a report said “Around 7.30 pm on August 10, the supply of liquid oxygen became low and the meter started beeping but it was met by oxygen cylinders. But this system worked only until 11.30 pm… Supply through cylinders was not sufficient until about 1.30 am on August 11, but after that supply resumed,”. The health minister also added that no deaths happened during the incident’s timeframe.
Sidhartha reportedly blamed poor sanitation and polluted groundwater for the Japanese
Taking the total count of fatality to 72, a four-year-old boy struggling with encephalitis died Sunday. The government officials already ordered for ‘magisterial inquiry’ regarding the incident, report says. Currently, the government suspended the medical college principal Rajeev Mishra on Saturday for supposedly delaying payment to oxygen supplier.
Asking a team of top ministers to look into what seem to be a case of manslaughter, the Chief Minister is certainly determined to identify whether the children’s cause of death was due to oxygen supply that allegedly ran dangerously low.
In addition, the same said on Saturday that “We have suspended the principal of the BRD Medical College and taking him guilty for his actions and an investigation on him has already been ordered and is underway. Those found guilty won’t be spared”.
UP Health Minister Sidhartha Nath Singh in a report said “Around 7.30 pm on August 10, the supply of liquid oxygen became low and the meter started beeping but it was met by oxygen cylinders. But this system worked only until 11.30 pm… Supply through cylinders was not sufficient until about 1.30 am on August 11, but after that supply resumed,”. The health minister also added that no deaths happened during the incident’s timeframe.
Sidhartha reportedly blamed poor sanitation and polluted groundwater for the Japanese
encephalitis’ breakout in the region.
Sources:( The Independent ) and (Chicago Tribune)
No comments:
Post a Comment