Gorakhpur tragedy: Pvt. chemical company supplies oxygen cylinders out of humanity

Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Aug. 12 (ANI): Amid the furore being witnessed in Baba Raghav Das Medical College hospital here, which has claimed 64 lives so far due to alleged shortage of oxygen, a ray of hope was seen when a private company, which earlier supplied cylinders to the hospital, provided over 200 cylinders despite having no contract or tender with the hospital. Modi Chemical Private Limited used to supply oxygen cylinders to the hospital, however, the hospital ended its contract with the company in March. But, this did not stop Praveen Modi, owner of the company, from fulfilling his duty as a human being. "When we came to know about the shortage of oxygen and the deaths following it, we supplied around 200-300 cylinders to the hospital out of humanity," Praveen Modi told ANI. However, the hospital still owes Rs. 20 lakh to the company. "In March, the medical college administration has stopped dealing with me and had given the tender to an Allahabad company," he added. The death toll due to alleged shortage of oxygen supply has now risen to 64, with three deaths being reported today. What is shocking to know is that the oxygen supply department in the hospital had already warned about shortage. The letter was written to the hospital authorities on August 3 and 10 informing them about the shortage of oxygen cylinders as the Pushpa Sales stopped supply over pending payment. On Friday, it was reported that as many as 30 children lost their lives due to encephalitis in a span of 48 hours at the hospital. Gorakhpur DM Rajeev Rautela said that the cause of the deaths at the BRD Hospital was the disruption in the supply of liquid oxygen and further appealed to the suppliers to not cut the supply henceforth. Following this report, the Uttar Pradesh Government jumped in defence of the medical college, while also assuring that the District Magistrate has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and the report will be out in 24 hours. Meanwhile, according to data procured from the BRD hospital, in past five days - from August 7 to August 11, a total of 60 deaths have occurred in the hospital. The procured data also shows the number of oxygen cylinders sent for refilling each day, showing a clear shortage of liquid oxygen in the hospital. (ANI)