Patna, May 21 (IANS): A legislator of the ruling Janata Dal United said that his wife lost her life since ventilators were not functional at the Sadar Hospital in Bihar's Araria district and at the Covid care centre in adjoining Forbesganj.

Achmit Rishidev, the JDU MLA from Raniganj in Araria district, revealed his ordeal after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, after learning of the incident, consoled him over the phone on Friday.

"My wife could have been be saved if she had got a ventilator faciility in time," Rishidev reportedly told the CM.

Rishidev's wife Manjula Devi was having symptoms of Corona but her test report came negative. She was suffering from high fever for 10 days and died on Wednesday evening.

"Manjula was admitted to Sadar Hospital in Araria district. That hospital has 6 beds with ventilator facilities but all of them were not operational. When her oxygen level declined, the doctors of the hospital suggested that she be taken to another hospital with a ventilator facility. We took her to the Covid care centre in Forbesganj in the adjoining Madhubani district. The doctors at the centre gave her oxygen support but her oxygen levels did not improve. The doctors said she required immediate ventilator support," Rishidev said.

"We searched for ventilators in several hospitals in Araria and adjoining districts and one ventilator was available in a private hospital located at Murliganj sub-town. We decided to shift her to that hospital, but Manjula lost her life on the way," Rishidev said.

M.P. Gupta, the civil surgeon of Araria, said: "She was admitted in Sadar Hospital but her test reports came negative. She was having breathing problems and died on Wednesday."

Following her death, Rabri Devi, the former CM of Bihar, slammed CM Nitish Kumar for lack of preparedness in hospitals and Covid care centres.

"This incident has revealed the ground realities of Bihar. CM Nitish Kumar should be ashamed of it," Rabri Devi said in a tweet.