Kota Infant Death Toll Mounts to 107; NHRC Takes Cognisance

Four children died on 30 December and five on 31st, all mainly due to low birth weight, a hospital official said.

The infant death toll at the JK Lon Hospital in Rajasthan’s Kota climbed to 107 on Saturday, 4 January, news agency ANI reported.

Just a day earlier, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had taken suo moto cognisance of the matter and sought a report from the Congress-led government in the state.

The deaths of 10 children at the government-run hospital during a 48-hour period on 23-24 December had triggered criticism by the Opposition and a visit by a team from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

Four children died on 30 December and five more on 31 December, all mainly due to low birth weight, hospital superintendent Dr Suresh Dulara had said.

Hospital authorities, however, said the number of deaths reported at the health facility has actually declined since 2014, when 1,198 children had died.

The nursing in-charge of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which specialises in looking after premature and sick newborns, has been replaced, Dr Dulara said.

Efforts for Upgradation & Maintenance in Place

Efforts to upgrade and maintain the equipment at the hospital have been put in place, following directions by the state government.

Medical College Principal Dr Vijay Sardana said an order has been issued to install a central oxygen supply line at the hospital and the work on it would be completed within the next 15 days.

The direction was issued a day after a BJP parliamentary team, comprising MPs Locket Chatterjee, Kanta Kardam and Jaskaur Meena, visited the hospital and expressed concern over its infrastructure.

The panel had said that two to three children were found together on single beds and the hospital did not have enough nurses.

‘Pigs Found Roaming Inside Hospital Campus’

Dr Sardana said the paediatric department at the health facility has been reconstructed, with its three units being functional in Jay Kay Lon hospital and a non-teaching unit working in New Medical College premises.

He said proposals for new OPD and emergency wards for pediatric and gynaecology departments have been incorporated in the proposed OPD Block under the Smart City Project.

Earlier, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had served a show-cause notice to the state government.

"Pigs were found roaming inside the campus of the hospital," its chairperson Priyank Kanoongo had said.

But a Rajasthan government committee ruled that the infants had been given the right treatment.

NHRC Takes Suo Motu Cognisance

The NHRC has issued a notice to chief secretary of the government of Rajasthan to submit a detailed report within four weeks in the matter, including the steps being taken to address the issue and to ensure that such deaths do not recur.