MYSURU: A day after horror unfolded at the Chamarajanagar District Hospital, the sequel expectedly came by way of an ugly blame game between authorities. The buck has to stop somewhere -- and the Chamarajanagar Deputy Commissioner, Dr MR Ravi, declared that it stopped with his Mysuru counterpart. Rohini Sindhuri, Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru, was responsible for the tragedy for allegedly holding up timely supply of oxygen cylinders, he claimed.
The Chamarajanagar DC has come under fire for the hospital tragedy which saw the deaths of 24 Covid-19 patients, for alleged scarcity of oxygen. The three districts of Mysuru, Mandya and Chamarajanagar get their oxygen supplies from The Southern Gas Ltd and Padaki Industrial Gases in Mysuru. Officials from Chamarajanagar usually go with trucks and wait long hours to refill cylinders which are less than the allotted quota. This is, apparently, because the suppliers have been told to meet Mysuru’s requirements on a priority, over the other two districts.
Responding to the claims of the Mysuru DC that supply of 250 oxygen cylinders were ensured to Chamarajanagar, DC Ravi issued a press statement on Tuesday, refuting her claims. “How can such a tragedy occur when they claim to have sent 250 cylinders,” he questioned. “Sixty six oxygen cylinders reached the district around 1.30 pm on Sunday when the liquid medical oxygen (LMO) storage tank got exhausted. We received another 65 cylinders from private vendors,” Ravi said.
“There was a need for 100 oxygen cylinder, but it was not delivered on time. I then contacted the vendor personally following which another 50 cylinders were delivered at 2.20 am on Monday,” Ravi said.He further added that he has conveyed this to the State Chief Secretary and sought his intervention to resolve the issue. “If the Mysuru DC had responded on time, the situation would have been under control,” he insisted. Ravi also questioned under what authority Rohini Sindhuri was regulating the supply of oxygen to other districts when there is a state body and a nodal officer to monitor this.
He said the government has assured supply of liquid oxygen and also buffer stock of 150 cylinders for Chamarajnagar, where there are no private hospitals. Chamarajanagar district in-charge Minister S Suresh Kumar, who visited the hospital on Monday, has also expressed displeasure over the alleged highhandedness of Rohini Sindhuri, to Chief Secretary. As of now, DCRohini Sindhuri has refused to comment on the charges stating that the government has already initiated an inquiry. She has also informed the government that there was no delay or mistake from her side in the supply of oxygen cylinders.
Chamarajanagar limping to normal
A day after 24 patients died due to lack of oxygen in Chamarajanagar, the district is limping back to normal amidst adequate supplies of oxygen, and patients getting admitted at the district hospital.