india

Updated: Jan 06, 2020 06:41 IST

After a political row over the deaths of over 100 infants reported last month at a state-run hospital in Rajasthan’s Kota, a fresh war of words erupted between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday after data showed that 111 infants died at a civil hospital in Rajkot district in BJP-ruled Gujarat in December.

“As per official records, 111 infants died at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Hospital in Rajkot in December, 71 in November and 87 in October last year,” the hospital’s medical superintendent, Manish Mehta, told reporters.

He said the rise in infant deaths at the hospital in December was mainly due to an increase in the number of referral patients with serious ailments. More infants with low birth weight was also among the reasons for the rise in number of deaths, Mehta said.

“We hold monthly meetings to assess facilities available at the hospital and meet the requirements urgently,” he added.

In Ahmedabad, health minister Nitin Patel, who shared the data, said cold weather in December was one of the reasons for higher number of deaths, and added that overall infant mortality had declined in Gujarat.

Launching an attack on the BJP, Congress state president Amit Chavda asked: “Should the government not worry about this, especially when both the prime minister and Union home minister are from Gujarat?”

“There have been 219 infant deaths in two government hospitals in Rajkot and Ahmedabad, and the number could be in thousands when hospitals across the state are taken into account,” he said.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala questioned the Gujarat government in a tweet. “...When questioned, CM runs away! Will PM dare to dismiss Vijay Rupani?” he asked. The Congress government in Rajasthan has recently faced flak from political rivals over infant deaths, prompting chief minister Ashok Gehlot to urge parties not to politicise the issue. At Kota’s JK Lon Hospital, 110 infants have died since December 1, 2019.

Confronted by reporters in Vadodara over the issue, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani walked away, without giving any reply. Of the 388 infants admitted to the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay General Hospital in Rajkot in December last year, 111, or 28%, died.

As many as 87 and 71 infants died in October and November last year, which was 19.3% and 15.5% of the infants admitted to the hospital’s Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU), according to news agency PTI.

At Ahmedabad civil hospital, 88 infants died in December, which was 21.2% of the 415 infants admitted there.

As many as 91 (18.4% of those admitted) and 74 (16.4% of those admitted) infants died in the hospital in October and November.

Sharing the figures, Patel said notwithstanding the higher number of deaths in December, the infant mortality in the state had dropped over two decades, from 62 per 1,000 in 1997 to 30 in 2017, with further drops recorded in 2018 and 2019. “Infant mortality rate is a matter of concern. The number of deaths rose in December due to winter season. Lack of public awareness, malnutrition among mothers and pre-natal complications are other reasons,” the minister said.

“We have set up 41 SNCUs and increased number of seats and colleges for medical education, as shortage of doctors remains a nation-wide problem. The government also provides a monetary incentive to private children’s hospitals in remote areas with no SNCU facility,” he said.

He also attacked the opposition Congress.

“They’re trying to divert attention from Rajasthan. I would like to ask the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh why patients from these neighbouring states come to Gujarat hospitals for treatment,” he said.