Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, August 30: After lapping up the Sarathi Baba controversy, the state unit of the Opposition BJP is all set to use the serial death of babies at Sishu Bhawan in Cuttack as a handle to beat the BJD government.
With the death toll of babies reaching 53 Sunday, BJP raised its voice and chalked out a programme for agitation. The party announced it would gherao all block offices, offices of the chief district medical officers (CDMOs) and additional district medical officers (ADMOs) September 2.
Addressing media persons here, BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra said, “The state government has failed to provide adequate healthcare facilities to the infants, which has resulted in the ongoing spate of deaths at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post-Graduate Institute of Paediatrics (SVPPGIP), also known as Sishu Bhawan.”
“Although the death toll reached 53, the state government did not take any step to stop further deaths. A lot of doctors’ posts are lying vacant in the hospital,” he added.
However, BJD spokesperson Amar Satapathy refuted the charges leveled by Mohapatra and argued that the infant deaths were not due to negligence. “It is mostly young patients at a critical stage of their ailments who reach this referral hospital. We don’t feel that the infant deaths have been caused by any medical negligence. The health minister is personally monitoring the situation. The issue of infant deaths should not be politicised,” he said.
A seven-member Central team of the Union health ministry, led by its additional secretary Arun Panda, visited the hospital Saturday.
The state government has also constituted a technical committee headed by the director of medical education and training (DMET) to find out the causes behind the infant deaths. It also appointed senior OAS officer Satyanarayan Das as the administrator of the Sishu Bhawan, sources said.