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Lack of swachhata cause of deaths: Yogi
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday termed the tragic death of more than 60 children in a Gorakhpur hospital as “unfortunate” and said that his government would take strict action if anybody was found guilty.
Lucknow /New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday termed the tragic death of more than 60 children in a Gorakhpur hospital as “unfortunate” and said that his government would take strict action if anybody was found guilty.
He said that he has ordered the state chief secretary to probe the oxygen supplier of the hospital if there was a case of short-supply. “The supplier is to be blamed in case there is such a case. I had already asked the hospitals to maintain an emergency stock of supplies to fight the vector-borne diseases,” he said
Adityanath said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed deep concern over the tragic incident and offered all help to deal with the situation.
He also said that he had sent two ministers to the hospital to get a first-hand report after the media highlighted about the incident. “I’m glad the media highlighted it. The incident is very unfortunate, my condolences to families,” he said.
He said Japanese encephalitis has been there since 1978 and if infants from eastern Uttar Pradesh are suffering from it then it’s due to lack of hygiene and open defecation.
He attributed a lack of knowledge among common people regarding cleanliness as one of the reason for the deaths and said if a government is a problem in itself, then it doesn’t have the right to exist, adding that a government comes up with solutions.
“There are vector-borne diseases, such as encephalitis …It is a tragedy that lives of young children have been snuffed out because we do not lead a clean and hygienic life,” he said, while addressing a public meeting in Allahabad.
Although the deaths are being blamed on infections and possible disruption of oxygen supply in the paediatrics ward, the hospital and district administration have dismissed the lack of oxygen supply as a reason for the tragedy.
In the wake of the incident, state Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh has announced that the principal of the BRD Medical College, Dr Rajiv Mishra, has been suspended with immediate effect “owing to laxity.” Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh CM has spoken to Union Health Minister JP Nadda and said all the aspects of deaths at BRD Medical college are being examined. On the other hand, Nadda has assured the state government of assistance and expertise from the Centre.
The incident has sparked a political backlash as the Opposition squarely blamed the Yogi Adityanath-led government of “gross criminal negligence”. Demanding a high-level inquiry into the incident, the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have decided to send teams to Gorakhpur.
On the other hand, SP president Akhilesh Yadav claimed that a shortage of oxygen supply in the hospital has led to the tragic incident.
