Opposition demands action after Jhansi hospital fire, points to poor condition of health in U.P.

Police personnel deployed outside the emergency ward after a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, in Jhansi district, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday (November 16, 2024) expressed condolences on the death of newborns in Maharani Laxmibai Medical College Hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi and demanded strict legal action against guilty.

In a post on X, Mr. Kharge said that the news of the death of innocent children in the accident at the medical college in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh is extremely painful.

At least 10 children died in a fire that engulfed the children’s ward of a medical college in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district, officials said, as 16 others injured battled for life early Saturday (November 16, 2024) morning.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (November 16, 2024) expressed grief over the death of children. “Heartbreaking! The fire accident at Jhansi Medical College in Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences to those who lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” Mr. Modi was quoted as saying in a post in Hindi on X by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also condoled the death of newborns. “Shocking news has come from Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Jhansi, where ten children have died due to a fire in the neonatal intensive care unit. Words of condolence and solace are futile in this time of great tragedy. We stand with the family and parents in this difficult situation,” she posted on X.

Taking to his social media handle on X, Akhilesh Yadav posted, “The news of 10 children dying and many children getting injured due to fire in Jhansi Medical College is extremely sad and worrying. Heartfelt condolences to everyone.”

“The cause of the fire is being said to be a fire in the ‘oxygen concentrator’. This is a direct case of negligence of medical management and administration or of poor-quality oxygen concentrator. Punitive action should be taken against all those responsible in this case. The Chief Minister should leave the election campaign and false claims of ‘everything being fine’ and focus on the poor condition of health and medical facilities,” read the post. 

District Magistrate (DM) Avinash Kumar told reporters that the fire broke out around 10.45 pm on Friday (November 15, 2024) in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, possibly due to an electrical short circuit.

The Uttar Pradesh government announced a financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each to the parents of the deceased, an official said.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told PTI on Saturday (November 16, 2024), “As many as 10 newborn children have died in the incident. 16 children are undergoing treatment in other wards of the Jhansi Medical College. The children, who were three to four days old have been kept on a warmer.” He added that the incident took place due to electrical short circuit and assured that strict action would be initiated against those found guilty.