54 die in UP hospital in three days, probe team rules out heatwave

Lucknow: After Uttar Pradesh was hit with a heatwave in the past few days, around 400 people were hospitalised. 54 of them died in the past three days in Ballia.

According to hospital data, 23 patients died on June 15. 20 and 11 died on June 16 and June 17. The probe team has ruled out heat as the reason for their deaths, reported NDTV.

"Prima facie, these do not appear to be heatwave-related deaths because nearby districts facing similar conditions are not throwing up similar death figures. The initial symptoms were chest pain mostly which is not the first symptom for someone affected by a heatwave," said senior government doctor AK Singh who is in charge of the investigation.

Initially, government doctors posted in the eastern Uttar Pradesh district had opined that the deaths may be linked to the heatwave. A Chief Medical Superintendent rank doctor posted was seen in a video claiming that the deaths were due to heatstroke and the video went viral. He was removed from his post earlier on Sunday for "giving a careless statement on deaths caused by heatwave without having proper information."

Singh thinks the deaths could be water-related. "It will be investigated if the deaths were due to water or if there's a different reason. The climate department will also come to check water samples."

Opposition leader Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav slammed the BJP-led state government for the slew of deaths. "So many people across UP have lost lives because of the carelessness of the state govt. They should have warned the people about the heatwave. Not a single district hospital has been built in UP in the last 6 years. Those who have lost their lives are poor farmers because they did not receive food, medicines, and treatment on time."

Health Minister Brajesh Pathak said the government has taken serious note of the incident and he is personally monitoring the situation.