Six more babies die in Bengal hospital

Underlining yet again the poor health infrastructure in West Bengal's government hospitals, six babies have died in a Malda district hospital, officials said Thursday.

"Since yesterday (Wednesday) morning, six babies have died. All of them were underweight. They were brought to the hospital in a very critical condition," H. Ari, superintendent of Malda Sadar Hospital, told IANS.

However, Ari admitted that the hospital lacks a neo-natal unit and assured that a specialised infant unit will come up very soon in the hospital. 

Between Oct 25 and 28, 16 babies died at the BC Roy Children's Hospital - the only children's referral hospital in Kolkata. The Burdwan Medical College and Hospital reported 12 infant deaths Oct 27-28.

Earlier in June, 18 babies had died at the BC Roy Children's Hospital.

Banerjee had then ordered a probe into the matter but later gave a clean chit to the authorities.