Hospital behind closed doors

Victims and their relatives had a harrowing time getting inside the Lal Bahadur Shastri medical centre as only one of its gates was open

Victims and their relatives had a harrowing time getting inside the Lal Bahadur Shastri medical centre as only one of its gates was open

Ambulances and other vehicles that were pressed into service to take the injured to hospital were struck by delays due to the apathy of the management at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital.

Representative pic

The hospital has three gates but only one was open through which all the injured were being taken inside.u00a0 Had the hospital authority opened all the gates the victims would have received medical care well in time.
When this reporter spoke to the Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital in this regard, he went inside the casualty department claiming he had to attend to the injured persons.

Ambulances that were coming in had to take a U-turn through a narrow space that was creating a problem for other persons gathered there. If all the gates were open the ambulances would have been able to deliver the victims and gone back to the site of the tragedy to provide more help.

A security guard of the hospital said that two of the gates of the hospital have been closed for months. He said that often people face problems while coming inside the hospital. He said that this problem can be sorted out but the MS and seniors are not paying heed towards this.

Probe ordered

Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit blamed the callousness of civic agencies for the building collapse.u00a0 "Preliminary reports indicate that complaints had been lodged against seepage in the building's basement, but no step was taken. This also seems to be an unauthorised construction," said Sheila Dikshit. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident by the government.

MCD's response

Though there was no official confirmation, officials in MCD said the building was illegal. "It was constructed around 15 years ago. Earlier, it was an unauthorised colony. The building plans have not been sanctioned by the MCD. However, whether it was declared a dangerous building or not is yet to be ascertained," said, a senior MCD official adding that their priority right now is the rescue work.
"The Deputy Commissioner and Chief Engineer of Shahdara (south) zone have been directed to carry out rescue work," said MCD spokesperson Deep Chand Mathur. A building department official of east Delhi said more than a two-kilometre long area in Lalita Park area has been affected by the recent floods in Yamuna. On Monday, barely a kilometre away from the building collapse site, a road also caved in. "Every building's basement in this colony is full of underground water. Though it happens every year, this year has been worse due to close vicinity to the Yamuna river," said an official.