The crisis in Maharashtra’s government-owned hospitals compounded further with 70-plus deaths in three cities - Nagpur, Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar - because of a multiplicity of causes.
After reports of deaths in after Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar caused a political furore in the state, deaths were reported from the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH), both in Nagpur.
Earlier reports came from the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital (SCGMCH) in Nanded and Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, earlier known as Aurangabad.
The GMCH-Nagpur and ICGMCH-Nagpur reported 14 and nine deaths, accounting for 25 deaths in 24 hours on Tuesday in the winter capital of the state.
Being the hub of central India, Nagpur receives patients from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states.
The death toll in SCGMC-Nanded reached 35 between Sunday and Tuesday.
The GMCH-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar reported 18 deaths over Monday and Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, and his counterpart in the Council, Ambadas Danve, visited the hospitals and took stock of the situation.
The Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government has announced a probe into the deaths and announced that every case would be investigated individually to find out if there are any lapses on the part of the doctors or hospital staff or if there was a lack of equipment and medicines.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi earlier demanded the resignation of state’s Health Minister Dr Tanaji Sawant and Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif.
The Bombay High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the deaths at the hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor asked Advocate General Birendra Saraf to submit details of the state's budgetary allocation for healthcare on Thursday.
Reacting to the hospital deaths, state Congress President Nana Patole said, “It has once again become evident that the Shinde-Fadnavis-Pawar state government is utterly indifferent and thick-skinned. It's deeply troubling that these deaths are occurring due to a lack of medicines. The government has money to host self-praising events, for advertisements, and for buying politicians, but not for purchasing medicines for the common people.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray posted on X, “In a state with one Chief Minister (hostile and illegal), and two Deputy Chief Ministers, it is unimaginable that scores of people can die in government hospitals due to lack of medicines and/or oxygen. Even more heartbreaking, when it’s newborn babies that die due to the absolute and shameless incompetence of the state government. While all this was happening, CM and DCM (Shinde and Fadnavis) flew to Delhi for talks on cabinet expansion, but haven’t visited these cities and families as yet. Had I not exposed the foreign tour/ holiday of the CM, he would be out on a holiday currently. Today they’re busy declaring guardian ministers (for which they fought over for 2 months), but not yet about this national tragedy."
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