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At least 30 children died in the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, the parliamentary constituency of Uttar Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in the last two days, an official said on Friday. The government, however, said that only seven had died and a probe has been ordered. Gorakhpur DM Rajeev Rautela told local TV channels, confirming the “death of 30 kids in the last two days” and seven deaths in the last 24 hours. He said that 17 children had died in the neo-natal ward, five in the ward meant for patients suffering from acute encephalitis syndrome and eight in the general ward. [caption id=“attachment_3921445” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
At least 60 children have died in the Gorakhpur hospital in the last 5 days. PTI[/caption] Denying that the children had died due to lack of oxygen, he confirmed that there was shortage of liquid oxygen at the medical college and that due to non-payment of Rs 70 lakh, the vendor supplying oxygen has stopped supply. However, he said the principal had told him that for emergency use, alternative arrangements have been made. He further said that part payment of Rs 35 lakh has been made to the vendor and that he had been requested not to disrupt the oxygen supply. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government denied media reports that more than 30 children had died at the hospital due to lack of oxygen. A statement issued by the state Information Department termed reports shown by “some TV channels as misleading” and that the District Magistrate was personally stationed at the medical college to keep a vigil on the situation emanating out of the death of seven patients on Friday due to “different medical reasons”. The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday night ordered a magisterial probe. The probe will be finished in 24 hours and a detailed report submitted, said Chief Secretary Rajeev Kumar, who also put the number of deaths at seven. He also ruled out the oxygen shortage being responsible. State Health Minister Siddarth Nath Singh told TV channels that “a lot of people come suffering from high fever and if they don’t get treatment, it may result in death”. To a query if an inquiry will be ordered, he said: “Absolutely, we will do into the depth of these deaths.. we are going to check each and everything and then come with a final answer.. those who who found guilty and if we find any error on their part, they will be made accountable..” Informed sources told IANS that senior health officials were monitoring the situation and admitted that the state government had been left red-faced because of the deaths took place in the Chief Minister’s hometown. Adityanath had been in Gorakhpur just two days back and held a review meeting of healthcare, among other things. Meanwhile, parents and attendants of patients, mostly children at the ward number 100 - the encephalitis ward at the BRD medical college — remained resigned to fate and medical negligence. The father of an infant from Padrauna told media persons that there was acute shortage of oxygen and accused authorities of lying to the media. “I am ready to hear the worst about my child,” he said amid flowing tears." Another distraught father, Deep Chandra from Basti district also aired similar sentiments and said that for the last 48 hours, there was no oxygen supply and the children admitted here were left to die despite prayers and requests to the officials of the medical college. Dozens of children admitted here are battling for life and in absence of proper treatment, medicines and oxygen, they have lost hope, said many others. With inputs from IANS
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Gorakhpur tragedy highlights: Yogi Adityanth calls deaths a 'despicable incident'; Anupriya Patel to visit hospital
At least 30 children died in the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, the parliamentary constituency of Yogi Adityanath.
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Siddharth Nath Singh says that no post-mortem was done on the deceased
CNN-News18 spoke to Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh and he revealed that no post-mortem was done on the infants who died in BRD medical college as they “died due to their illness.” He also claimed that more deaths would have occurred if there was no oxygen supply. Siddharth added that the payment was made on time and it was the hospital principal who did not pay money to oxygen supplier.
Anupriya Patel and Siddharth Nath Singh on the Gorakhpur infant deaths
MoS Health Anupriya Patel, who arrived in Lucknow on Saturday evening, drove straight for a high-level stocktaking meeting on the tragedy. She also spoke to the media at the press conference and said that the guilty would not be spared and that the government would act “cruelly and with a firm hand” to punish callous officials.
State Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh denied that the shortage of oxygen or the disruption of the central oxygen plant at the BRD medical college had led to the deaths of children. He also attributed the deaths of children to some underweight, early delivery, sepsis, pneumonia and other infections. A few deaths, he added, happened due to encephalitis as well.
According to IANS, Medical Education Minister Ashutosh Tandon said pending payments of the vendor supplying oxygen were cleared on 5 August and funds sent to the medical college.
“It is thus surprising that the BRD Medical College Principal Rajeev Mishra did not release it till 11 August,” he said, adding that prima facie he was found callous and has hence been suspended.
The minister also questioned Mishra’s trip to Rishikesh in middle of such a grave crisis. He also said that a committee has been formed under the chief secretary to probe the role of the oxygen supplier and it is expected to submit a report within a week.
Infant deaths recorded in BRD hospital in the past five days:
August 7: 9 (4 NICU, 2 AES, 3 non-AES)
August 8: 12 (7 NICU, 3 AES, 2 non-AES)
August 9: 9 (6 NICU, 2 AES, 1 non-AES)
August 10: 23 (14 NICU, 3 AES, 6 non-AES)
August 11: 7 (3 NICU, 2 AES, 2 non-AES)
Yogi Adityanath says anyone found guilty will not be spared
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed the death of over 30 infants in BRD medical college in Gorakhpur through a press conference in Lucknow. He said that the incident was very unfortunate and that he was glad that the media highlighted it. “I had started the fight against Encephalitis in Gorakhpur. My thoughts are with grieving families,” he said at the presser.
He said that Narendra Modi expressed his concern over the incident and offered help and support to address the incident. Adityanath also discussed the cause of death of the infants, saying, “We will be getting a detailed report on the cause of deaths. Not all of them were due to lack of oxygen.” He added that he had toured the hospital twice since becoming chief minister.
He also said that if the deaths were in fact due to oxygen shortage, it would mean that it is a despicable incident. He said, “We have constituted a committee to be lead by the chief secretary to inquire the role of oxygen supplier in the incident.” “Anyone found guilty will not be spared,” he added.
He added that the UP MoS Health Anupriya Patel will be visiting Gorakhpur on Sunday morning to analyse the incident.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath holds press conference in Lucknow
Candle light march held at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur over death of 30 infants
Yogi Adityanath attempts to deflect culpability by blaming infants deaths on dirty surroundings and open defecation
Even as a magisterial probe is underway into the death of over 60 children, including infants, at the Baba Raghav Das Medical college in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath blamed the incident on the lack of cleanliness, reports IANS.
Addressing a gathering at Allahabad, Adityanath told the gathering that the death of these children in his hometown was caused by filth and scourge of open defecation. “There are vector-borne diseases, such as encephalitis, you must be hearing media reports of BRD medical college these days…it is a tragedy that lives of young children have been snuffed out at such young age because we do not lead a clean and hygienic life” he said while reminding the crowd that the disease has been the bane of eastern Uttar Pradesh since 1978.
“Unclean surroundings are causing the untimely death of children,” he added while praising Narendra Modi for his Swacch Bharat initiative. To further distance the ruling BJP-led government from the issue, he said, “The governments cannot be the problem, they are solutions and if they are problems in themselves they have no right to continue.”
According to CNN-News18, a father who lost his child in the BRD medical college incident said that his family was not allowed to leave immediately as the state health minister Siddartha Nath Singh was supposed to hold a press conference the hospital. He also said that the doctors mislead him into thinking that it was pneumonia and not encephalitis. He also said that there was a shortage of oxygen and that the ailing were in distress, verifying claims that it was the lack of oxygen that lead to the deaths of the infants.
Samajwadi Party delegation pays a visit to BRD medical college in Gorakhpur
Yogi Adityanath calls meeting of Uttar Pradesh ministers
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has called for a meeting of ministers Siddharth Nath Singh, Ashutosh Tandon and MoS Health Anupriya Patel over the Gorakhpur tragedy, reports ANI
A high-level committee headed by Chief Secretary Rajiv Kumar will investigate the Gorakhpur incident, State Minister of Technical and Medical Education Ashutosh Tandon said.
BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj claims oxygen was cut off over non-payment of dues
BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj today said 30 infants died in a Gorakhpur hospital because oxygen supply was cut off over non-payment of dues. “The deaths which took place in a Gorakhpur hospital were very saddening. The person, who switched off the oxygen supply on the pretext of non-payment of dues, was responsible for the incident,” the MP from Unnao told reporters.
Denying media reports that he had termed the incident as a “massacre” (narsanhar), Sakshi Maharaj said, “I have never said so. I said the deaths were not natural and steps should be taken to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future.” — PTI
Rahul Gandhi on the Gorakhpur tragedy
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi spoke out in Raichur on the death of 63 infants in BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur. “Congress party is with the bereaved families,” he said.
Tehseen Poonawalla and Shehzad Poonawalla arrested
Activists Tehseen Poonawalla and Shehzad Poonawalla arrested at Mandir Marg police station for attempting to hand over a memorandum to prime minister Narendra Modi over the Gorakhpur hospital tragedy
Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan on the Gorakhpur tragedy
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan sought a time-bound probe into the deaths of 30 children in a government hospital in Gorakhpur and said it was an “hour of test” for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Paswan, a BJP ally, termed the deaths as “heart-rending” and noted that the tragedy happened in Adityanath’s constituency. “I am sure he will take it very seriously and it must be taken so. This is an hour of test for the chief minister,” he told a press conference.He added that the condition of government hospitals in UP and several other states is “very bad”.
JP Nadda meets Yogi Adityanath
Union Health Minister JP Nadda spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and assured him of assistance from the Centre, reports ANI. The report adds that Adityanath assured Nadda that “all aspects of deaths at BRD Medical college are being examined.”
Death of 63 children in five days shocks India, photos from the epicentre of the event
In a tragic incident, 63 children died in past five days at Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh, see more photos here .
Yogi Adityanath govt got its priorities wrong, it focused on patriotism when people died
Someone at the Secretariat in Lucknow, I can bet, must be working the calculator to decide on the exgratia amount to be given to each grieving parent. That feudal manner of giving compensation that lends to the state a mask of benevolence. Let me help. Rs 68,58,596 divided by 30 would come to Rs 2.28 lakh per patient.
If only Yogi Adityanath’s government had cleared that sum of money to the oxygen supplier, it would not possibly have had blood on its hands today. Or converted eastern Uttar Pradesh home to these tiny graves.
Full analysis here
Centre seeks report from UP govt on children’s deaths
The Centre on Saturday sought a detailed report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the deaths of more than 60 children in the past five days at a Gorakhpur hospital, said health ministry sources.
Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel and health secretary CK Mishra were asked to visit Gorakhpur and look into the various lapses at the BRD Medical College where these children were admitted, a ministry official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
Read more here .
Yogi Adityanth speaks out about Gorakhpur hospital tragedy
AAP also blames the government for the tragedy
UP govt’s stand a damning indictment of Yogi Adityanath’s work ethics
The sequence of events that led to the massacre of 60 children in Gorakhpur’s Baba Raghav Das Medical College since 7 August is a damning indictment of the government machinery. First, it failed to pay the contractor who supplied liquid oxygen to the hospital, running up arrears in excess of over Rs 68 lakh, even when, as the supplier argued, the terms and conditions of the supply agreement said the pending amount would not exceed Rs 10 lakh.
Read the full article here
Meanwhile, West Bengal government takes stock of its healthcare situation
The West Bengal government has undertaken a review of the state’s healthcare situation to avoid a tragedy similar to the Gorakhpur one, according to News18 . “We don’t want to take any chances and are ensuring that things are on track. So, far we have not found any major issues. Some minor issues will be resolved soon,” a senior official at WBMSC said.
Narendra Modi speaks to Yogi Adityanath
After the prime minister’s office said that Modi is constantly monitoring the situation, CNN-News18 reported that Modi is speaking to Adityanath over the Gorakhpur tragedy.
Naveen Patnaik expresses shock over death of children
BRD Medical College principal takes responsibility for the deaths
BRD Medical College Principal, Rajiv Mishra, said that he had written his resignation even before the government sacked him and he is taking responsibility for the death of the children. He also said that the hospital had paid the gas company on time and no death happened because of low oxygen.
Social worker Rahul Verma had filed an RTI in BRD College in 2011
The Department of Pediatrics report stated that from 2009 till 2011, 3,745 children had died in the hospital. Further, the report also revealed that the incubator, pulse oximeter and infant ventilators in the hospital are out of order.
Most of the deaths happened because people were on cylinders: Report
After Siddharth Nath Singh admitted that oxygen supply was cut off for two hours, Newslaundry published a report which claims that most of the deaths on 10 and 11 August happened because people were relying on cylinders. When the oxygen supply was stopped at 7.30 pm on August 11, there were only 52 jumbo cylinders at BRD Medical College on which the authorities relied to manage supply from 1.30 pm the same day, the report said.
Meanwhile, Bhagwant Mann tweets
JP Nadda seeks report from Uttar Pradesh health department
Union health minister JP Nadda has asked minister of state for health Anupriya Patel and Health Secretary CK Mishra to visit Gorakhpur to look into the deaths of children. Nadda has also sought a report from the state health department into the matter. An expert team will leave for Gorakhpur on Saturday.
Siddharth Nath Singh admits oxygen supply was cut off for two hours
While Siddharth Nath Singh admitted that oxygen supply was cut off for two hours, he added that it was a usual incident which happens and was managed through cylinders.
Government assures action will be taken soon
Contract with hospital ended in March: Firm that supplied oxygen
The owner of a firm that supplied oxygen to the hospital said his contract had ended in March and was not renewed. Parveen Modi, owner of Pushpa Sales company, which used to supply oxygen to the Baba Raghav Das medical college, categorically denied that it had the tender to do so.
He told media persons that his contract with the hospital had ended in March and was not renewed. While it is a practice that till new tender formalities are not completed, the supplier is asked to continue as a stop gap arrangement, in this case it was not done, he said. – IANS
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UP govt suspends BRD Medical College principal
PM constantly monitoring situation in Gorakhpur: PMO
Death of children did not take place due to shortage of gas: Siddharth Nath Singh
“We have come to the conclusion that the deaths of children in the hospital did not take place due to shortage of gas in the hospital,” Siddharth Nath Singh said. He claimed that when the death of seven children was reported during 24 hours, there was no shortage of gas cylinders.
UP health minister talks about the high number of deaths in BRD Medical College since 2014
“In August 2015, 668 deaths took place in the peadeatric section of the hospital,” said Singh in the hospital.
“In 2014, 2015 and 2016, 17 or 18 deaths per day on an average were reported from the BRD Medical College,” said the UP health minister.