6 dead, 141 injured in Mumbai hospital blaze
Mumbai, Dec 17: A massive fire swept through a government hospital in Mumbai Monday evening killing six people and leaving 141 patients and visitors injured, officials said.
A total of 147 people, including patients and visitors, were rescued after the fire broke out at the ESIC Kamgar Hospital at Marol in suburban Andheri, said an official of the Disaster Management Cell of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
They were subsequently shifted to different hospitals, he said.
The official said 19 of them were taken to civic-run Cooper Hospital where two were declared brought dead.
Another 33 were shifted to Seven Hills Hospital in Andheri where three were declared dead, he said.
Forty were taken to Holy Spirit Hospital, Andheri (East), where one of them was declared brought dead, the official said.
Some of the injured were discharged, while the others were undergoing treatment in different hospitals with some of them in the ICU, he said.
A fire brigade official said the blaze at the hospital was reported at 4.03 pm and it was extinguished at 7.35 pm.
"The building is a ground plus five-floor structure and the blaze erupted on the fourth floor," the official said.
The deceased are yet to be identified, he said, adding the cause of the fire was not yet known.
Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar said it was under investigation.
"At present, our priority is to ensure patients sent to hospitals get proper treatment," the mayor said.
Recalling the horror, a patient, Santosh Kadam, said, "I was on the fourth floor and was going to the ground floor to get my MRI done.
"Suddenly, nurses and other staffers started shouting and told us to vacate the building since a fire had broken out. I along with my other relatives came down safely."
Another patient Girish Patel said, "I saw smoke emanating from the third and fourth floors. There was thick layer of smoke. People panicked and started running helter-skelter before hospital staff came and advised us to vacate the floor quietly."
According to another civic official, over 160 patients were admitted in the hospital at the time of the blaze.
Milind Ogle, the deputy chief fire officer of the MIDC area, told PTI, "Our team had found some lacunae in an under-construction building coming up adjacent to the hospital and suggested their rectification."
"The hospital administration was in the process of complying with our suggestions. Meanwhile, this incident took place in the old hospital building," Ogle said.
The 325-bed hospital was constructed in 1970s, the officials said, adding police and hospital authorities have vacated the building till further notice.
Fire brigade personnel had to break the glasses of the building's facade to evacuate stranded patients, they said.
Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Sharma said an inquiry will be launched in association with the fire brigade department to ascertain the cause of the fire.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
