290 Children Died at BRD Medical College in August, 1250 Since January, Says Principal

The principal, giving a break up of the numbers, said 213 of the 290 children had died in the neo-natal ward of the ICU and 77 in the encephalitis ward.

New Delhi: A total of 290 children have died in the Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur in the month of August, of whom 213 died in the neo-natal ICU ward and 77 in the encephalitis ward, principal P. K. Singh told PTI today.

“There have been 1,250 deaths since January this year at the hospital, especially in encephalitis, infant and children’s wards,” he said.

Giving a break up of the causalities at the infamous medical college, Singh said 37 children have died on August 27 and 28, of whom 26 died in the neo-natal ICU (NICU) and 11 in encephalitis ward. He said that the death toll in January was 152 (143 in NICU and nine in the encephalitis ward), in February the death toll was 122 (117 and 5), in March 159 (141 and 18), in April 123 (114 and 9), May 139 (127 and 12), June 137 (125 and 12) and in July 128 (95 and 33).

The principal said children with different complications and ailments arising from premature delivery like being under weight or with jaundice, pneumonia, infectious diseases and encephalitis, are admitted to the hospital, mostly in very serious conditions.

 UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, talking about the children’s deaths today told ANI, “Mujhe lagta hai kahin aisa na ho, log apne bachhe, jaise hi 2 saal ke ho, sarkar ke bharose chhodd de, sarkar unka paalan poshan kare (I think what might happen is that as soon as children turn 2 years old, their parents leave them in the government’s care).”

The chief minister also said, “Media kehti hai falani jagah kooda pada hai. Humlog maante hain sarkar ki zimmedari hai. Lagta hai saari zimmedarion se mukt ho gaye (The media says that Gorakhpur is strewn with garbage. We accept it is the government’s responsibility. It seems as though everyone else is free from responsibilities).”

Adityanath had formed a committee to look into the matter on August 12, a day after the deaths of children were reported at the hospital.

(With inputs from PTI)