deepak pace
DJ_DEE
Patiala, January 31
In a tragic incident, five infants, three barely five days old and two 10 days, were devoured by raging flames, emanating from the photo-therapy unit, meant to save innocent little lives, in the Neonatalogy unit of the Rajindra Government Hospital here this morning. The incident allegedly happened due to the negligence of the hospital authorities.
The situation was so pathetic that in the absence of anyone to keep an eye on the newborns, five of the 10 children admitted to the ward, were rescued by relatives of some other patients.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has ordered a judicial probe into the matter. The probe will be conducted by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge KC Garg.
The Chief Minister has also suspended the Principal of Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital Jaswinder Pal Kaur Shergill for “seeming negligence” in the incident and for her alleged absence from duty at the time of the incident.
The Chief Minister has also declared an ex-gratia grant of Rs 1 lakh to parents of each of the deceased infants. Payment against the grant was made to the victims’ parents on the spot by Deputy Commissioner Deepinder Singh.
On the other hand, Patiala divisional commissioner Jasbir Singh Bir has directed the inquiry officer to submit his report by Tuesday evening.
The preliminary magisterial inquiry conducted by the SDM Patiala, it was learnt, has pointed out that the electric short-circuiting could be the reason behind the fire.
The maximum damage to infants’ lives was caused by the factor that there was no caretaker present on the scene as no nurse was deputed to take care of the ward. One of the seriously injured infants was shifted to the PGI, Chandiarh, while four of the them were being treated in another ward of the hospital.
Grieving relatives of the infants revealed that fire broke out in the ward at around 3 am and engulfed the incubators and photo-therapy units within minutes. “It may be the first hospital in the country where the nurses’ station was situated out of the unit. How can any instant help reach the victims in such a situation?” questioned one of the relatives. The doctor in charge was also at a distance from the unit.
“I witnessed flames emanating from the unit and I grabbed my blanket, wrapped it around three infants and moved them out of the inferno with the help of another person and a relative of another patient,” said Surjit Singh of Aehru Khurd village, adding that their efforts to rescue more kids proved futile as raging flames made their task difficult.
Three of the five victims were males and two females.
Senior officials, including, the divisional commissioner, deputy commissioner, SSP, mayor and several Akali leaders were among those who reached the spot to take stock of the situation and condole with the grieving parents of deceased children.
Meanwhile, expressing shock over the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has assured that the guilty, if any, will not be spared and that the state government will ensure that the incident is probed minutely.
“I express deep and sincere sympathies with the members of aggrieved families and parents of the five newly born children, who lost their lives in the tragedy,” the Governor said.
Meanwhile, Patiala MP Preneet Kaur has condoled the tragic death of five infants in the fire incident.
“It is so shocking. A proper probe should be conducted to nail down the culprits, if any, responsible for the incident,” said Preneet who also reached the hospital and consoled the grieving parents.
She also lauded the role of Palwinder Singh, canteen contractor, who rescued some infants from the ward.
In a tragic incident, five infants, three barely five days old and two 10 days, were devoured by raging flames, emanating from the photo-therapy unit, meant to save innocent little lives, in the Neonatalogy unit of the Rajindra Government Hospital here this morning. The incident allegedly happened due to the negligence of the hospital authorities.
The situation was so pathetic that in the absence of anyone to keep an eye on the newborns, five of the 10 children admitted to the ward, were rescued by relatives of some other patients.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has ordered a judicial probe into the matter. The probe will be conducted by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge KC Garg.
The Chief Minister has also suspended the Principal of Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital Jaswinder Pal Kaur Shergill for “seeming negligence” in the incident and for her alleged absence from duty at the time of the incident.
The Chief Minister has also declared an ex-gratia grant of Rs 1 lakh to parents of each of the deceased infants. Payment against the grant was made to the victims’ parents on the spot by Deputy Commissioner Deepinder Singh.
On the other hand, Patiala divisional commissioner Jasbir Singh Bir has directed the inquiry officer to submit his report by Tuesday evening.
The preliminary magisterial inquiry conducted by the SDM Patiala, it was learnt, has pointed out that the electric short-circuiting could be the reason behind the fire.
The maximum damage to infants’ lives was caused by the factor that there was no caretaker present on the scene as no nurse was deputed to take care of the ward. One of the seriously injured infants was shifted to the PGI, Chandiarh, while four of the them were being treated in another ward of the hospital.
Grieving relatives of the infants revealed that fire broke out in the ward at around 3 am and engulfed the incubators and photo-therapy units within minutes. “It may be the first hospital in the country where the nurses’ station was situated out of the unit. How can any instant help reach the victims in such a situation?” questioned one of the relatives. The doctor in charge was also at a distance from the unit.
“I witnessed flames emanating from the unit and I grabbed my blanket, wrapped it around three infants and moved them out of the inferno with the help of another person and a relative of another patient,” said Surjit Singh of Aehru Khurd village, adding that their efforts to rescue more kids proved futile as raging flames made their task difficult.
Three of the five victims were males and two females.
Senior officials, including, the divisional commissioner, deputy commissioner, SSP, mayor and several Akali leaders were among those who reached the spot to take stock of the situation and condole with the grieving parents of deceased children.
Guv expresses shock over tragedy
Governor Gen SF Rodrigues (retd) has expressed profound grief over the tragedy which struck five infants at Patiala’s Rajindra Hospital and snuffed out their lives today morning.Meanwhile, expressing shock over the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has assured that the guilty, if any, will not be spared and that the state government will ensure that the incident is probed minutely.
“I express deep and sincere sympathies with the members of aggrieved families and parents of the five newly born children, who lost their lives in the tragedy,” the Governor said.
Meanwhile, Patiala MP Preneet Kaur has condoled the tragic death of five infants in the fire incident.
“It is so shocking. A proper probe should be conducted to nail down the culprits, if any, responsible for the incident,” said Preneet who also reached the hospital and consoled the grieving parents.
She also lauded the role of Palwinder Singh, canteen contractor, who rescued some infants from the ward.
...
![[Hardeep]](https://www.unp.me/data/avatars/s/25/25527.jpg?1570213921){kind=avatar}
