BHUBANESWAR: Here are the latest developments in the aftermath of the devastating fire at Bhubaneswar's SUM Hospital on Monday night, which swept the dialysis ward and took the state government's Fire Service off guard.
1. Bhubaneswar SUM Hospital's superintendent Pushparaj Samantasinghar, arrested yesterday, complained of chest pain while in police custody and has been admitted in the SCB Medical College and Hospital [SCBMCH] at Cuttack.
2.One more Bhubaneswar SUM fire victim, identified as Janaki Hui of Balasore, succumbed to burns at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. The woman had earlier been admitted to Sum Hospital with lung cancer. She was taken to AIIMs with critical burns.
3. The toll in the tragedy climbed to 21 persons so far. About 105 patients shifted from SUM are receiving treatment in various hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
4. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has announced ex-gratia payments of Rs 5 lakh to each of the 21 bereaved families. He also directed free treatment for the injured.
5. The Odisha state government has opened a control room to monitor the treatment of fire victims. The additional director of the National Health Mission [NHM] and the joint director of Medical Education and Training are monitoring the treatment of SUM fire victims.
6. The Odisha government has decided to conduct a fire audit at all government hospitals and healthcare facilities in the state. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by chief secretary A P Padhi and attended by secretaries of energy, health departments and the director-general of fire service Binay Behera.
7. In particular, electrical installations at hospitals will be reviewed. One month time has been given to the state's Energy and Works Department to submit their requirements after inspections, Padhi told reporters.
8. Fire chief Behera has submitted his report based on his prelim inspection. He said about 160 health facilities in the state capital, only three or four institutions, have availed fire safety permission.
9. The Congress has demanded Rs 25 lakh compensation for each of victim's family. "The state government should give Rs 10 lakh and the Centre needs to provide Rs 15 lakh," Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan said. The CPI's national secretary D Raja also demanded adequate compensation
10. Union health minister J P Nadda is in Bhubaneswar and said he is not there to play the blame game. "Our priority is proper treatment of patients," he said upon arrival. He and oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan met the fire victims at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, AMRI Hospital and KIMS Hospital. The two ministers will visit Sum Hospital later in the day.
