Nanded: A dirty toilet in a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Nanded, where 31 people have died in 48 hours, was cleaned by the dean after a Member of Parliament from the ruling Shiv Sena instructed him to do so, NDTV reported.
The death toll in the hospital reached 31 on Tuesday with seven more, including four infants, succumbing in 48 hours.
After the deaths made national headlines, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MP Hemant Patil visited the Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital on Tuesday and took stock of the situation there.
On spotting a filthy toilet, Patil caught hold of the hospital’s dean, Shyamrao Wakode, and asked him to clean it.
Videos show the MP standing and holding a pipe as the dean empties the toilet, putting a container, a bottle, and a toilet brush on a window.
Patil can then be seen spraying water into the toilet as Wakode, armed with a wiper, directs streams of dirty water into the commode, the report said.
Amid the outrage among the opposition over the deaths, Wakode rejected allegations of negligence against the hospital on Tuesday, claiming that deceased were suffering from different ailments such as diabetes, liver failure, and kidney failure.
He emphasised that there was no shortage of medicines or doctors, and the patients were given proper care, but their bodies did not respond to the treatment.
Probe demanded
He also outlined that some of the patients were suffering from arsenic and phosphorus poisoning, snake bites etc.
On Tuesday, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge called for a detailed investigation into the case saying the incident was “extremely painful, serious and worrying”.
Recalling a similar incident that happened in Thane two months ago, Kharge said 18 patients lost their lives and such accidents raise questions about the health system of the state government.
“The news of the death of 24 patients, including 12 infants, in a civil hospital in Nanded, Maharashtra is extremely painful, serious and worrying. It is being said that these patients died due to a lack of medicines and treatment. A similar incident took place in a government hospital in Thane in August 2023 in which 18 patients lost their lives,” posted Kharge on X.
“Our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Continuous such accidents have raised a question mark on the health system of the state government. We demand a detailed investigation so that the culprits of this negligence are given strict punishment from the judiciary,” he added.
Meanwhile, launching attack on the state government and the management of Nanded Hospital, former CM and senior Congress leader from Nanded, Ashok Chavan, said that besides the recent deaths, another 70 patients, referred from other private hospitals in the district, are reported to be ‘critical’.
“Around 24 people’s death has been reported at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Medical College and Hospital and therefore I have come here and met the Dean. The situation is concerning and serious.
“The government should take this up and provide immediate help...Around 70 other people are critical. Replacement of a lot of nurses who were transferred has not been given,” Chavan said.
