IN the entire region of the terai in and around Gorakhpur, in the adjoining districts of Deoria, Kushinagar, Maharajgunj, Gonda, Basti, every water body, small and large, is surrounded with small brick structures made during the Chhat puja when devout fasting men and women stand all night in the water, pray to the rising sun for the longevity of their children.  This occurs at the end of the monsoon, after Japanese encephalitis has taken yet another toll of infant life in the area.  The small brick structures seem to be memorial shrines to the dead infants.  The faith of the devout in the Sun God is stronger every year as the government and its health system fails to cure their children.  This year, the failure has been even more glaring.

By the evening of August 11, news started coming in of the tragic deaths of more than 65 children afflicted with Japanese encephalitis in the BRD Hospital, Gorakhpur.  These deaths occurred over 48 hours and lack of oxygen was held responsible for them.  The district magistrate, Routela, himself agreed that there was a problem in the supply of oxygen to the hospital.

On the 12th, itself, the CPI(M) organised a demonstration in front of the Vidhan Sabha followed by a dharna at Gandhi’s statue.  All the state leaders of the Party, including secretary, Hiralal, participated.  The Party demanded resignation of the health ministers, payment of compensation to the families of the children who had died and a judicial enquiry into the circumstances leading up to these deaths.

The tragic deaths of these children of poor families have elicited a tremendous reaction of anger all over the state and, in fact, in most parts of the country.  The reason for this that while deaths from the dreaded JE do occur every year in this region, these deaths were due to the complete criminal neglect of the urgent needs of the hospital by the state government.  The oxygen suppliers had not been paid for months leading to a stoppage of supplies which triggered off these avoidable deaths.

Japanese encephalitis is a vector-borne disease that has claimed the lives of more than 25,000 children in the last four decades.  Preventive measures and treatment for this disease are both well-known.  Despite this, the neglect of the public health system by successive governments in the state has ensured that nothing much is done to prevent this sickness from recurring during every monsoon season. 

The present chief minister of UP, Yogi Adityanath has been the member of parliament for Gorakhpur for the last two decades.  All the MLAs of the district also belong not only to his party, the BJP, but are entirely loyal to him.  For years, Yogi has been railing against various state and central governments for the deaths due to JE.  He has staged dharnas and agitations on this issue.  During the Lok Sabha elections of 2014, Narendra Modi had made a speech in the neighbourhood of Gorakhpur where he had referred to his ‘56” chest’ and had vowed to stop the deaths of poor infants in the region.  Nothing changed after he became the prime minister.  Hundreds of deaths occurred in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

When Yogi became chief minister earlier this year, it was expected that he would initiate measures to deal effectively with JE before the rains started.  Unfortunately, nothing was done.  What is worse is that he did nothing to ensure that the minimum needs of the hospital to cope with the patients once the rains started were met.  Payments to the doctors and staff are delayed for months with the result that there are many vacancies which cannot be filled unless this is remedied.  Most shocking is the fact that the Paediatric ward and the special JE ward staff have not been paid properly for nearly two years.  Many of the doctors and staff members here are hired on contract.  Even Dr Kafeel Ahmed who was in charge of the JE ward was on contract till a few months ago.  There are, of course, no medicines available for the patients despite promises that they will be given free of charge.  Even medical gauze has to be bought from private shops outside the hospital gate.  Just in front of the JE ward, is a huge garbage dump full of rotting and stinking garbage, home to dozens of dogs and pigs.  All these reasons, of course, contribute to the high mortality rate of JE patients.  But it was the oxygen shortage that started to become apparent on the night of August 7 that proved to be the greatest killer.

While the government of UP is now doing everything in its power to shift the blame to individuals in the hospital administration and to deny that oxygen supplies or lack of them were responsible for the tragedy, the facts are very different.  The suppliers themselves had sent repeated reminders to the health department demanding payment and informing them that they would not be in a position to continue supply of oxygen if their dues were not cleared.  The principal of the hospital had also written more than one letter to his superiors.  The local media had also reported that an emergency situation could be created if payment was not made.  Unfortunately, all these were completely disregarded by the state government, with tragic consequences.

Once the deaths occurred, the state government and the BJP went into overdrive to shift both focus and blame.  They went to the extent of blaming Dr Kafeel Ahmed who had been praised for his role in saving many lives for being responsible for the tragedy by making all kinds of allegations, many of which were not even remotely connected with the issue.  This vile communalisation of a terrible human tragedy for which the state must take responsibility found many takers among Sanghi supporters.

The fact that the state government has now issued a circular to all government hospitals to ensure that there is no disruption in the supply of oxygen and that pending payments will be immediately taken care of is proof, if any was needed, that such a disruption had indeed taken place.

The chief minister, prime minister and president of the BJP – along with many of their colleagues – have been remarkably callous in their statements and reactions to this tragedy.  They have all been more concerned with avoiding any responsibility than in their expressions of grief.  The UP chief minister has gone to the extent of sending a circular to the state police DGP to ensure that Janamashtami is observed with conspicuous fervor this year.  At a time when hundreds of families are mourning the unbearable deaths of their infant children, such a public exhibition of insensitivity and callousness is nothing short of inhuman.

The UP state committee of the CPI(M) has given a call for demonstrations to be held in all districts against this callousness and for justice to the victims of the criminal negligence of the state government on August 18.

A CPI(M) delegation comprising of Sreemathi Teacher, MP, and Subhashini Ali, Polit Bureau member, will visit Gorakhpur on August 17.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on August 13

Impermissible Negligence

THE Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the gross negligence of the UP state government and authorities of public health that has led to the death of 63 children so far due to the shortage of oxygen supply. This is impermissible.

The arguments doled out by the UP state government and the chief minister attributing these deaths as not due to the shortage of oxygen but bad sanitation and civic conditions is unacceptable. Warnings of oxygen shortage have been given for some years now and the non-payment of dues to the oxygen suppliers appears to be the main cause.

Blaming sanitary conditions for these deaths speaks volumes for the much tomtomed Swach Bharat campaign of the prime minister and the BJP. Further, the UP CM has himself represented Gorakhpur constituency for the last twenty years in the Lok Sabha. His contribution for the neglect of hygienic conditions cannot be overlooked.

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau demands a high level judicial enquiry be instituted to establish the culpability, beginning with the chief minister and the state government, followed by stringent punishment of the guilty.