It has been a fortnight since a deadly fire at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack snuffed out the lives of 12 patients. Ever since, the Odisha Assembly has been in a limbo with the opposition demanding the resignation of Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling. The fire at the state’s largest government hospital was a tragedy that clearly exposed the lack of preparedness in handling a challenge of this magnitude. On that fateful night, the dozen-odd patients admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit had little chance of escape once the blaze started because most of them were on ventilators or oxygen supplies. However, a larger catastrophe was avoided as fire fighters and other agencies managed to contain the flames to the first floor of the four-storey building, where over 100 patients were lodged.
The government’s initial response was knee-jerk—suspending low-ranking fire and electricity officials based on a fact-finding team’s report hours after a judicial commission of inquiry was ordered. A few days later, it quietly shuffled some supervisory officials of the medical college without linking them to the mishap.
Fire safety at SCB Medical College was under the Orissa High Court’s scrutiny. The fire services directorate had submitted an affidavit detailing the safety equipment installed and structural changes made in 2024. It also completed safety audits of 2,210 out of the state’s 2,215 healthcare establishments. At SCB Medical College, all the 85 buildings were assessed. It was the health department’s responsibility to ensure they were adequately equipped—by moving the administrative machinery, if needed.
A decade back, when a deadly fire at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar had killed over 20 patients, the BJP—then in opposition—had called for the health minister’s dismissal. The BJD government had to bow to the pressure and sacrifice the minister. Now that the tables have turned, the ruling BJP has decided to wait it out instead of walking its earlier talk. Heads should have rolled after the SCB mishap, but the government is mindful that any action on health department officials would also point at the minister’s accountability. Amid this impasse, crucial legislative hours in the state assembly have been washed out by the opposition’s relentless protests.