Daijiworld Media Network - Nagpur
Nagpur, Aug 24: NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Monday termed the Amravati hospital fire “very unfortunate” and demanded a fire audit of all government hospitals in Maharashtra, along with a six-month action plan to address safety concerns.
Speaking to reporters, Pawar said three children from poor families had lost their lives in the incident and recalled a similar incident in 2021, following which a special committee was constituted to audit hospitals across Maharashtra and recommend safety measures.
“This is a very unfortunate incident. Three children, all from poor families, lost their lives. A similar incident had occurred in 2021, after which a special committee was formed and tasked with auditing hospitals across Maharashtra and recommending measures that needed to be taken,” he said.
Pawar alleged that the committee had submitted its report to the government but no action had been taken on its recommendations.
“The government should prepare a six-month action plan based on that report and inform people about the measures that will be implemented in every government hospital in every taluka of Maharashtra,” he said.
The NCP (SP) MLA also alleged that the government does not value the lives of the poor.
“Whenever such incidents occur, it is the poor who lose their lives. We feel that this government does not value the lives of the poor,” he said.
Pawar further claimed that around 44,000 children had died over the last three years due to various reasons, including malnutrition, serious illnesses, accidents and snakebites, in schools and hostels for tribal children. He said the issue also needed to be addressed.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Navneet Rana questioned the hospital’s fire audit record and demanded strict action against those responsible.
“How many times has the fire audit been conducted? Many poor children come to the government hospital, and we have lost three children today. I think strict action will be taken in this matter,” she said.
Rana said she had spoken to the minister and requested that an immediate letter be issued.
“If the fire audit was not conducted, then who is responsible for this?” she asked.
According to preliminary reports, an explosion in a ventilator triggered the blaze, which quickly engulfed the unit. The explosion reportedly led to the rapid spread of fire and smoke inside the ward.
The exact cause of the fire remains unknown, and authorities are investigating the site to determine what triggered the blaze.
Duty doctors, nurses and hospital staff rescued several infants from the unit after the fire was detected.
The third floor houses three NICU wards with a combined capacity of 39 beds, with 13 beds in each ward. The unit where the fire broke out reportedly had between nine and 12 high-risk premature infants receiving critical care at the time.
The incident has sparked outrage and raised serious questions over the medical facility’s emergency preparedness.
Despite the building being newly constructed and inaugurated a year ago by late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the automated fire suppression system reportedly failed to activate.
Authorities are also investigating whether the ventilator that exploded was outdated, inadequately maintained or suffered a critical technical failure.