Twenty one infants have died in the Purulia District Hospital in West Bengal over the last five days, according to hospital authorities.
The hospital reported a highest seven deaths on last Friday itself.
These were all infant deaths. All the babies were brought to the hospital in a critical condition. This is a backward area of the state. We have sought the state’s intervention. We are holding a meeting with the Chief Medical Officer and other doctors tomorrow to look into the matter.
— Nilanjana Sen, Superintendent, Purulia District Hospital
According to the doctors of the hospital, the infants died due to low bodyweight, infection and pneumonia. Some infants were brought to hospital in a critical condition and had breathing problems and pneumonia since birth.
The state government is yet to respond to the matter as locals are demanding the government to look into the matter urgently and take corrective measures.
A delegation of the local Congress unit inspected the condition at the hospital on Saturday and submitted a memorandum to the hospital Deputy Superintendent Santanu Mukherjee. The Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) workers had taken out a protest march on Friday demanding an inquiry into the high number of infant deaths.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)