Bengaluru, Nov 29 (IANS): After the death of five women post-delivery in two government hospitals in Ballary City, Karnataka BJP has demanded the resignations of the Health and Medical Education Minister and urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to act without delay.
Senior BJP leader R. Ashoka stated on Friday, “Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil must take moral responsibility and resign immediately.”
Ashoka further demanded that a fair and impartial investigation be conducted into this incident, and legal action should be taken against those responsible.
“In the past 10 days, five maternal deaths have occurred at the Ballary District Hospital and VIMS (Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences) hospital. However, the report submitted by an expert committee investigating these deaths has been kept confidential by the Congress government, raising numerous suspicions,” Ashoka stated.
Following these tragic deaths, on November 16, the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation issued a circular instructing that Ringer Lactate Infusion, supplied by a private company, should not be used, he noted.
Ashoka questioned, “Is there any connection between the deaths of the mothers in Ballari and this circular? Who is responsible for supplying and using these substandard medicines? By keeping the report confidential, whom is the government trying to protect?”
"Despite this shocking incident that has shaken the entire state of Karnataka, neither CM Siddaramaiah nor Dy CM D.K. Shivakumar has taken any action or even expressed condolences. Moreover, the district in-charge Minister, Zameer Ahmad Khan, has not even visited the district so far, Ashoka slammed.
The people in Karnataka's Ballary and neighbouring Vijayanagar district expressed outrage against the authorities following the death of five women in a span of 10 to 15 days. The women were admitted to the District Government Hospital in Ballary city, and Vijaynagar Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS).
It has been alleged that the deaths occurred due to negligence of the hospital authorities. Among the five deceased women, four had undergone cesarean delivery at the Ballary District hospital.
The families, relatives and people are questioning the absence of Minister for Waqf and Housing Zameer Ahmed Khan, who is the District In-Charge Minister for Ballary. They are also questioning the silence of representatives from the Ballary region.
District In-Charge Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan has stated that he will seek information regarding the deaths of pregnant women from the officials first and not be bothered to initiate proactive measures.
Four women in their post-pregnancy phase succumbed in 10-15 days at the Ballary Government District Hospital.
Mahalaxmi, 20, is the latest victim. Mahalaxmi, a resident of CS Pura in neighbouring Vijayapura district, was admitted to VIMS after she experienced labour pain. She gave birth to a child through the normal delivery procedure on Sunday. However, Mahalaxmi allegedly succumbed to severe bleeding and infection on Wednesday.
The parents of the deceased claimed the negligence of doctors was the reason for the death of their daughter and demanded action.
BIMS Director Dr Gangadhar Gowda said Mahalaxmi was suffering from anaemia. She was earlier treated at a hospital in Kudligi and later was admitted to the BIMS. She was not stable at the time of the admission and the family was informed of the risk ahead of the delivery. "We have done our best and Mahalaxmi succumbed to health ailments," he stated.
However, Mahalaxmi's parents maintained that their daughter was healthy and everything was normal. She suffered severe blood loss after the delivery of the child, and she was given 18 bottles of blood. All this indicates negligence on the part of the doctors, they stated.
At Ballary District Hospital on November 9, cesarean surgery was conducted on 14 pregnant women. Among them, seven developed health complications and in a week, four of them succumbed. The deceased were identified as Lalitamma, Rojamma, Nandini and Muskaan.
The series of deaths has raised concern among economically weaker sections of society who can't afford private hospitals and depend on government-run hospitals. The hospital authorities are claiming that the deaths are due to health complications of the pregnant women and washed off their hands.