The Congress demanded a judicial probe into the Sum Hospital fire mishap and Rs25-lakh compensation and a job to kin of each deceased.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Prasad Harichandan said, “Our State Government didn’t learn anything from the AMRI hospital (Kolkata) fire accident in 2011 in which 90 people were killed. Besides the SUM Hospital authorities, I will say both Chief Minister and Health Minister are responsible for the incident.”
“I am surprised how no objection certificate (NOC) was given to such a big hospital in the absence of adequate firefighting equipments. This is complete negligence by the State Government. A judicial probe must be ordered into the incident and the culprits must be booked,” Harichandan said.
The CPI also sought a hike in the compensation amount announced by the hospital authorities.
“Rs5-lakh ex-gratia is not adequate. Our party demands the amount be increased to Rs20 lakh,” CPI national secretary D Raja told reporters here.
“A very high level probe should be ordered into the incident…When such big corporate hospitals are built, there must be adequate medical infrastructure including fire safety measures and these must be monitored in a regular interval. This is a case of complete negligence. All lapses must be thoroughly analysed,” Raja stated.