After the unmitigated disaster that was the Gorakhpur tragedy, news reports are indicating that 49 children have died in Farrukhabad’s Ram Manohar Lohiya hospital in the span of 30 days, with 30 children dying within the last 48 hours alone.
The cause, just as it was in the Gorakhpur tragedy, is suspected to be a disruption in oxygen supply. Coming just days after the Gorakhpur tragedy, this incident throws harsh light on infrastructural impoverishment on the health firmament in Uttar Pradesh.
Inexcusable paucity of funds is accompanied by an administrative apathy leading to a situation where inadequate funds are allocated to the healthcare budget of the state. The Yogi Adityanath administration, which has seen its currency erode by leaps and bounds in the aftermath of the Gorakhpur tragedy, now finds itself in an extremely vulnerable position.
No amount of media projection can undo the damage to the credibility of the state government. Perhaps, the CM must remind himself that the electorate of UP voted the BJP to power on the pervasive appeal of PM Narendra Modi.
In an unusual departure from voting on caste lines, the people of India’s largest state voted for PM Modi in search of development. However, these tragedies shine an uncharitable light on the pathetic state of affairs in healthcare provided within the state. While it is true that the situation was worse under earlier regimes, it is high time the Yogi government tackles the scourge of child deaths due to apathy on a war-footing.
