Jhansi hospital fire: UP deputy CM seeks action against officials after his 'VIP welcome' draws flak

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Following backlash over his grand welcome at the Jhansi hospital, Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak on November 16 directed the district magistrate to initiate action against the officials who lined his path with lime powder.

In a video message, Pathak said, “Before I reached Jhansi Medical College, some person was laying lime powder on the roadside, which is very sad. I condemn this. And, I would ask the District Magistrate to identify the person, who got the work done, and take strong action against him. I will never accept this.”

Pathak and the principal secretary of the health department had gone to the Maharani Lakshmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi to visit the families of the neonates who died in a fire that engulfed the children’s ward on November 15.

As per reports, the road leading to the hospital was lined with lime powder before his arrival, drawing massive criticism, especially from the Opposition. A video of workers marking the path with lime powder in apparent preparation for a VIP visit was circulated widely on social media.

The Congress party, in a post on X, dubbed the incident “insensitive” and wrote, “On one hand, children were burnt to death, their families were crying and wailing. On the other hand, lime was being sprayed on the road to welcome the Deputy CM. The family even says that there was filth spread all across the compound, which was cleaned before the arrival of the Deputy CM. This is the height of the government’s insensitivity. Children are dying by burning and this government is busy in polishing its face. Shameful!”

According to Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar, the fire at the state-run medical college broke out around 10.45 pm in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It was likely caused by an electrical short circuit.

While 10 children died in the fire, 16 were injured in the tragic incident and are battling for life. The children who were in the outer part of the NICU were rescued, along with some of those who were in the interior part.

The state-run medical college started services in 1968 and is one of the largest government hospitals in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.

(With agency inputs)