Gorakhpur deaths: NHRC notice to UP government -Governance Now

Gorakhpur deaths: NHRC notice to UP government

Notice to Uttar Pradesh government over deaths of several children in BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur

GN Bureau | August 14, 2017

#NHRC #Gorakhpur #BRD medical college #children #death #Uttar Pradesh #oxygen supply #Lucknow

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government following the death of several children in the BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur. The commission has called for a detailed report along with the steps taken for relief and rehabilitation of the affected families as well as action taken against the guilty officers within four weeks.

The notice sent to the UP chief secretary follows the suo motu cognizance taken by the rights commission of several media reports hinting at negligence in the supply of liquid oxygen at the hospital, which resulted in the tragedy.

NHRC observed that the deaths, in such a large number in a government run hospital, amount to serious violation of right to life and health of the innocent victims. This indicates gross callousness on part of the hospital administration and the medical education and health department of the state. Earlier too, it has come across several instances of deaths in the hospitals due to Japanese Encephalitis.

The commission observed that the issue of deaths due to Japanese Encephalitis was discussed with the chief secretary and other senior officers of the state government in detail during its Open Hearing and Camp Sitting at Lucknow for the cases of Uttar Pradesh from August 9 to 11. However, in spite of assurance given by the state administration, the situation has not improved.

According to the various media reports, carried since August 12, the private firm contracted to supply liquid oxygen to the BRD Medical College, stopped the supplies, as it was not paid the outstanding dues of almost Rs. 70 Lakh and the result was deaths of about 60 children who were admitted in the neo-natal and encephalitis wards of the hospital.

As per media reports, the magisterial inquiry has been ordered by the administration to ascertain the cause of deaths. In the last three decades, JE and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) have claimed over 50,000 lives in eastern Uttar Pradesh, mostly in Gorakhpur district.

A total of 124 deaths were reported in the hospital till August 8, 2017. As many as 641 children died last year and 491 in the year 2015.

Comments

Other News

Expanding Eureka!

Abright yellow van with figures of children playing with a whirligig, a Newton’s cradle, a magnetic compass rolls into the Government Higher Primary School in Kittaganahalli, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Students in the playground leave what they are doing and mill about it in excitement. For they

The spark in the classroom

Not many children dream of starting an idyllic school of their own when they grow up. But Ramji Raghavan, founder of the Agastya International Foundation – which fosters the creative learning of science in stude

Trafficking survivors’ votes don’t count

While the entire nation is agog with political grapevine, political parties are weighing on all options to lure voters by touching upon issues that impact their lives. Several parties, including the BJP and the Congress have released their manifestos while many are about to join the bandwagon. The

“I have a bigger reason and motivation to join politics”

Urmila Matondkar joined the Congress party and within just two months into politics, the actor is already surrounded by controversies – from being accused of making anti-Hindu comments to inappropriate poll campaigning. Fielded against BJP’s Gopal Shetty in the Mumbai North constituency, Ma

Campaign trail with BJP’s Manoj Kotak

Dressed in white shirt and pants, three time Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) corporator Manoj Kotak is now contesting from Mumbai north-east constituency. Kotak, representing BJP in the BMC, is ready to rally around Ward 125 in Ghatkopar east area. It’s about 7:30 pm on a hot April e

Modi is now the topic of a PhD thesis

Sunil Bhatt, a Gujarat-based professional, has completed what is possibly the first PhD thesis on prime minister Narendra Modi. The thesis, titled ‘Leadership, Governance and Development: A case study of Shri Narendra Modi’, has been accepted at the Veer Narmad South Gujarat Universit

Current Issue

Video

Opinion

Twitter

Tweets by @governancenow