Bhandara Fire: ‘Neonatal unit didn’t have fire safety nod’, says Vijay Wadettiwar

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has ordered that all government hospitals be audited for fire safety after the tragic deaths of 10 infants in a fire that broke out in the neonatal unit of Bhandara Civil Hospital which didnrsquot have a requisite fire safety clearanceUddhav ThackeraySpeaking to reporters after visiting the hospital Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation Vijay Wadettiwar didnrsquot spell out the exact cause for the fire but said that the civil surgeon of Bhandara had told him that a fire safety proposal of Rs 151 crore was pending with the government since May 2020 He also said that the neonatal unit became operational in 201516 without fire safety complianceMeanwhile CM Thackeray in a statement said that he was deeply shocked by the incident ldquoStrict action will be taken against the people responsible We will take all precautions to avoid such incidents in the future by conducting a fire audit of all staterun hospitalsrdquo he said He also announced financial aid of Rs 5 lakh each to the bereaved parents and assured the families of the injured advanced treatmentldquoThe unit was dedicated to the people in 2015 We will have to find out why the fire audit was not carried and what led to the incident if the audit was conducted The probe will decide the action to be takenrdquo the CM saidThe incident has put the state government under scrutiny from the Opposition BJP which is expected to get some national leaders to visit the facility and meet the affected families Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis demanded that those responsible be charged for murder ldquoAll hospitals should be audited for fire safety It is beyond comprehension why a proposal from the illfated hospital wasnrsquot funded by the government since last yearrdquo he said demanding that the parents be given Rs 10 lakh eachFormer energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the hospitalrsquos faulty electrical equipment switches and wiring werenrsquot replaced despite repeated demand from the hospital administration and that ultimately claimed innocent livesThe BJPrsquos top leadership including PM Narendra Modi took cognisance of the incident by expressing their grief and shock Prominent national leaders are expected to visit Bhandara to help BJPrsquos state unit grill the government furtherMake fire audits compulsoryAfter the 2011 Amri Hospital fire in Kolkata that killed 89 following a short circuit in the building basement the then Additional Chief Secretary Health of Maharashtra Jayant Bantia had issued a circular directing mandatory fire safety audit of nursing homes and private hospitals Unfortunately the circular was used to put pressure on small nursing homes but civicrun and governmentrun hospitals remained untouched ldquoIf such fire audits are not carried out in district and primary health care centres incidents like these will continue Stringent fire audits should be carried out across all hospitals under the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Amendment Act 2015rdquo said MV Deshmukh former Director Maharashtra State Fire Services and adviser to state governmentInputs by Vinod Kumar Menon