ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad High Court today directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file its reply on a petition which alleged that more than 50 people have died at a renowned hospital in Varanasi in the last six months due to non-availability of medical oxygen.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Dilip Gupta and Justice Amar Singh Chauhan passed the order on the Public Interest Litigation of Bhuvaneshwar Dwivedi and asked the state government to file its counter affidavit within six weeks while fixing October 27 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
Arguing on behalf of the petitioner, counsel K K Roy and Charlie Prakash alleged that paucity of medical oxygen has claimed more than 50 lives at Sir Sunder Lal Hospital, which is attached to the Benares Hindu University.
The counsel also alleged that due to scarcity of medical oxygen, doctors at the hospital have been administering industrial gases to serious patients which is resulting in fatalities.
The PIL comes close on the heels of deaths of more than 30 children at a hospital in Gorakhpur earlier this month.
While Gorakhpur happens to be the parliamentary constituency of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Varanasi is the Lok Sabha seat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.