NEW DELHI: Public outrage has erupted in India after at least 31 patients, including 16 infants, died in the past three days due to a shortage of essential medicines at the Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital in Maharashtra’s Nanded district. The tragic incident has prompted widespread condemnation and calls for a thorough investigation.
Officials confirmed the deaths, expressing deep regret over the situation. Dr. S R Wakhode, the medical superintendent at the hospital, acknowledged the shortage issue but stated, “We always ensure that a patient does not lose his life for lack of medicines at our hospital. In case of need, we make local purchases. We cannot deny that sometimes, there may be a shortage of medicines for non-serious ailments.”
The Nanded district information office (DIO) posted on X, stating the grim reality: “The facts related to the death of patients at Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital is as follows: 24 deaths between September 30 and October 1; seven deaths between October 1 and 2.”
Opposition Voices Outrage over Deaths in India
In response to the growing death toll, the Maharashtra government has formed an inquiry committee to investigate the incident. Opposition political parties, including Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), have voiced their outrage. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge demanded a thorough investigation, expressing deep concern about the incident’s recurrence following a similar event in a Thane government hospital in August 2023 where 18 patients lost their lives.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, stating, “The BJP government spends thousands of crores (millions) of rupees on its publicity, but there is no money for medicines for children? In the eyes of Modi’s BJP, the lives of the poor have no value.”
The tragic incident has raised questions about healthcare infrastructure and funding in India, bringing into sharp focus the need for immediate and effective measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.
