The BJP on Saturday wrote to Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena and said the “denial of funds” for maintenance to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)-run Kasturba Gandhi Hospital was the reason behind the death of an infant on life support as an extended power outage disrupted ICU services there two days ago.
The letter came after a party delegation visited the hospital on Saturday to take stock of the infrastructure deficiencies there and interacted with the hospital staff and patients.
In a statement, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor alleged that three deliveries were conducted in candlelight on Thursday as the power backup system did not work during the almost seven-hour-long power cut.
Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did not respond to queries over the accusations. Earlier, Mayor Shelly Oberoi had directed the MCD Commissioner to launch an immediate inquiry into the child’s death.
According to the BJP statement, the party delegation told Mr. Saxena that the hospital building was in a dilapidated state and lifts were also not operational.
“The child care and maternity wards were dirty, patient beds are too old, and there was a lack of maintenance,” it noted.