Negligence by UP Govt. unacceptable, says CPM on Gorakhpur tragedy

New Delhi [India], August 13 (ANI): The Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued a statement on Sunday stating that the lack of negligence on the part of the Uttar Pradesh Government and authorities of public health is unacceptable. The CPM, in the issued letter, has strongly condemned the conditions which resulted to the death of more than 60 children at the BRD Hospital in Gorakhpur. It has also criticised the arguments given by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the state government blaming the substandard conditions of the hospital for the death. It also took a dig at Prime Minister Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, after the UP Government blamed the sanitary conditions for the death of the children. In addition to it, it questioned Adityanath's contribution to the state, mainly because the imcident took place in his own constituency - Gorakhpur. The CPM asked for a high-level probe into the matter and demanded a stringent punishment for the guilty. As of Sunday, nearly 70 children succumbed to encephalitis in Gorakhpur's hospital. According to the data procurred from the BRD hospital, in five days - from August 7 to August 11, a total of 60 deaths had occurred in the hospital. The procurred data also shows the number of oxygen cylinders sent for refilling each day, showing a clear shortage of liquid oxygen in the hospital. (ANI)