Bhopal fire tragedy: MP govt cracks whip; several hospital officials removed

A major action has been taken by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Bhopal's Kamla Nehru Hospital fire case on Wednesday as it has removed the Dean of Gandhi Medical College and Hamidia Hospital based on an inquiry report by a high-level committee. The Madhya Pradesh government also removed the operator of Kamla Nehru Hospital. The sub-engineer of the Capital Project Administration (CPA), which constructed the hospital building, has also been suspended. Additionally, the collectors of every district have been ordered to keep an eye on the completion of the fire safety norms of the hospitals of their respective districts. There will also be a separate civil wing of the Medical Education Department, which will look after the maintenance of its medical college.

This comes a day after the Madhya Pradesh government held a cabinet meeting with state ministers and government officials and announced that a high-level inquiry committee had been constituted to probe the accident, and all those who worked in the rescue operations in the hospital would be honoured. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also announced that he had ordered a probe on the matter, and a report on the fire safety audit had been demanded from the hospital. "It is an unfortunate incident. A probe has been ordered into the incident. This is a case of criminal negligence. Stringent action will be taken against those found guilty," tweeted Chouhan. 

Kamla Nehru Hospital fire

A major fire broke out in the hospital at around 9 pm on Monday, and eight to 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames, said Fatehgarh Fire Station in-charge Juber Khan. Smoke filled a room of the children’s hospital, he added. Reports suggest that short-circuit could be a probable reason behind the fire that swept through the newborn care ward of the hospital.

"Four children died in the fire that broke out in the special newborn care unit (SNCU) ward probably due to a short circuit. We reached the spot along with others soon after getting information about the incident. It was dark inside the ward. We shifted the children to the adjacent ward." The state's Minister of Medical Education Vishvas Sarang informed.

Image: ANI