Ayurvedic doctor dies in Pune; schools, colleges closed

The victim was Babasaheb Lakshman Mane, who was working for the government-run Sassoon General Hospital. He was brought to the hospital on August 7 with severe broncho-pneumonia after he had tested positive on August 6.

Sassoon’s dean Dr Arun Jamkar said Mane was working in Pune’s slums. After he was brought to the hospital, he was immediately administered double dose of Tamiflu. As his condition deteriorated, Mane was put on ventilator and oxygenation was started. His lungs started responding, but haemodynamics failed after some time.

Mane is the third patient to lose his life in Pune due to H1N1 virus. India’s first swine flu victim was 14-year-old Rida Shaikh who died August 3. She was a IX class student in Pune’s St Anne’s high school. A teacher, 42-year-old Sanjay Tukaram Kokre, had succumbed to swine flu on Saturday.

The Pune district guardian minister Ajit Pawar held an emergency meeting in the city on Monday in which it was decided to close all educational institutions as well as malls till August 17. Multiplexes and cinema halls will be shut for three days.

“The decision was taken after a high-level meeting organised by the Chief Minister Ashok Chavan authorised the district administration to take appropriate steps in the matter,” Pawar, nephew of union agriculture minister and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, said.
Mane is the fourth swine flu victim in the state. A woman had died in Mumbai on Saturday.

In Mumbai, two more Mumbai schools — St Dominic Savio National Open School, Andheri east and Arya Vidya Mandir school in Juhu — declared closure for the whole week from Monday after two students were found positive in the Andheri school and one in the Juhu school.

Last week, the Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Bandra-Kurla Complex and the J B Vachha School, Matunga were shut for a week after some of their students were detected with H1N1 virus.

However, these were isolated decisions. The chief minister put to rest all rumours of a Mumbai shutdown and said the festivities such as Dahi Handi and the ensuing Ganesh festival will be held as any other year.