Shocked parents stay put at Jhansi hospital waiting for their infants' charred bodies
hansi (UP) (PTI): Yakum Mansuri was sleeping on the pavement outside the children's ward of the medical college in Jhansi on Friday night when a fire broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit. He broke in through a window and managed to rescue some newborns but not his two daughters.
Charred bodies of some babies were shown to him by the authorities for identification but to no avail. "I couldn't recognise them," said the grief-stricken father, still desperate to find his daughters.
The blaze at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that claimed the lives of 10 newborns, many of them born prematurely, has been doused but the air around is heavy with sorrow.
Parents, mostly young mothers, and their families who gathered outside the children's ward clung to one another, drawing strength in their darkest hour. The women's faces are hidden behind veils but their grief was palpable in their cries.
Santoshi, who gave birth just 11 days ago, sat on the ground sobbing with her face covered by her palms.
"I heard a noise and came running. But how could I save my child? There was no information, no one told us what was happening," she said in a voice shaking with grief, not ready to accept the loss of her child.
The fire broke out around 10.45 pm on Friday, possibly due to an electrical short circuit. As the rescue operation unfolded, many anxious parents and their families kept a silent vigil, struggling to comprehend the scale of the tragedy that had struck them.
While 10 newborns died in the fire, 16 others remain critically injured.
Among the heartbroken parents is Sanjana, who had just given birth to her first child prematurely.
"My child was born after seven months and was admitted here. When the fire broke out, no one could save him. He died," the wailing mother told PTI Videos.
Nearby, Sonu stood frozen, his face a mask of grief. He lost his seven-month-old son in the fire.
"My son had been admitted to the NICU for over a month. When the fire broke out, we were not allowed to enter. They saved many children, but 10 were burned. One of them was my son," he said to PTI video, his voice cracking with pain.
Sonu's brother Parsuram said, "We sold everything we had and took loans to buy medicine to ensure that he got the treatment he needed. Despite all this, we couldn't save the baby."
The Uttar Pradesh government has announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the parents of each deceased and also ordered a three-tier probe into the incident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths and announced an assistance of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased.
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
