West Bengal: At least eight drown in flash floods during idol immersion in Jalpaiguri
Jalpaiguri (WB) (PTI): At least eight people drowned and several others went missing after they were swept away in the Mal river due to flash floods during idol immersion on Vijayadashami here, a senior official said.
Four of the dead are women.
The incident took place around 8.30 pm on Wednesday when hundreds of people gathered on the banks of the Mal river to participate in the immersion ceremony.
"All of a sudden, flash floods struck and people were swept away. So far, eight bodies have been recovered and we have rescued around 50 people," Jalpaiguri District Magistrate Moumita Godara told PTI.
She said 13 people, who received minor injuries, were admitted to a nearby hospital.
"The search and rescue operations are underway and being carried out by teams of the NDRF, SDRF, police and local administration. The search operations have started downstream," she said.
State Backward Class Welfare Minister Bulu Chik Baraik, who is the MLA from the Mal Assembly constituency, feared that the death toll may increase.
"I was present at the spot when the incident happened. Several people were swept away and the water current was very strong. Hundreds of people were present when the incident took place. Several are still missing," he said.
Baraik and senior TMC leaders rushed to the spot to oversee the relief and rescue operations.
Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari requested the state administration to step up the rescue efforts.
"Saddening news coming from Jalpaiguri as flash flood in Mal river during Durga Puja immersion swept away many people. Few deaths have been reported till now. I request the DM of Jalpaiguri & @chief_west to urgently step up rescue efforts & provide assistance to those in distress," he tweeted.
flash floods
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Insensitive of Pune hospital to deny admission to woman, says Fadnavis; forms inquiry panel
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the formation of a committee to inquire into the death of a pregnant woman after she was allegedly refused admission by Pune's leading Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital over non-payment of a deposit of Rs 10 lakh.
The controversy escalated on Friday with local political activists staging a protest outside the hospital and the hospital claiming that the woman's relatives were making misleading allegations.
A day earlier, BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe claimed in a video message that Tanisha Bhise, the wife of his personal assistant, was refused admission by the hospital. She was taken to another hospital where she died after delivering twins, he said.
A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said on Friday that he had taken serious note of the incident. "He has ordered the formation of an inquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Joint Commissioner of Charity, Pune," it said.
It said that the deputy secretary or under-secretary of the Law and Justice department would be the member secretary of the committee.
Further, instructions have been issued to the principal secretary, the Law and Justice department and the charity commissioner to ensure that the Charity Patient Scheme prepared as per the directions of the High Court is effectively implemented by all charity hospitals, the CMO said.
"All charitable hospitals should seek approval from the 'Charity Hospital Help Desk' through the online system to make reserved beds available to patients from the poor and vulnerable groups," it said.
The government has approved 186 posts of charitable health workers in charitable hospitals, and they should be filled immediately, the CMO statement said.
Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said it was "insensitive" on the part of the hospital to deny admission to a pregnant woman.
He conceded that there was a lot of anger among the people over the incident.
"Medical ethics are needed. The Chief Minister's medical cell also intervened, but the hospital did not budge," Fadnavis said.
An internal inquiry report of the Mangeshkar Hospital claimed that the allegations of denial of admission for non-payment of Rs 10 lakh were "misleading" and made "out of frustration" by her family.
The woman's pregnancy was in the high-risk category, and her two underweight fetuses of seven months, coupled with a history of an old ailment, required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treatment for at least two months, it said.
The treatment required Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the family was advised that in case of lack of funds, they could admit the patient to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital for a complicated surgery, it added.
BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, meanwhile, came under criticism for a social media post praising the party's women's wing members who targeted and vandalised a private clinic in Pune's Kothrud area belonging to Dr Shusrut Ghaisas, who works at the hospital.
Dr Nilima Ghaisas, his mother, said her son did not practice there.
Activist Vishwambhar Choudhari criticised Wagh's remarks and claimed that the BJP-led state government recently allotted land to the hospital for Rs 1 per year rent.
The deceased woman's husband was the personal assistant of a BJP Member of the Legislative Council, yet he could not do anything, Chaudhari said.
