Government counters Opposition campaign that delayed emergency response caused hospital collapse death

The Hindu

9 hours ago

The State government appeared to scramble to contradict the Opposition's strident campaign that the 'callous delay' in search and rescue operations had cost the life of Bindu, 52, the sole fatality in the partial collapse of a building on the Kottayam Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) campus on Thursday.
Cooperation Minister V.N. Vasavan, who called on Bindu's bereaved family at Thalayolaparambu on Friday, told reporters that the post-mortem report indicated Bindu had died instantaneously. 'She had suffered a fatal head injury from the falling debris,' he said.
Mr. Vasavan termed the Congress's propaganda that the government's uncaring inference that no one was under the debris had caused Bindu to suffer a lingering death as 'a maliciously misleading lie.'
He said Bindu was acting as a bystander for her daughter, Veena, who required a costly and protracted treatment, including complicated surgeries, when the tragedy struck.
'Free of cost'
Mr. Vasavan said Apollo Hospital would treat Ms. Veena free of cost. The government would provide temporary employment to Bindu's son. The Cabinet on July 11 will declare the compensation amount for Bindu's family based on the report submitted by the Kottayam Collector.
Quoting a timeline, Mr. Vasavan said the Ministers and officials had reached the accident site within minutes of the collapse. He told the decades-old building lacked a separate pathway for emergency responders. 'Firefighters had to cut through an iron barricade to move earth movers to the spot for the search and rescue mission. Any attempt to punch a way through the structure to reach the accident site would have caused further mishap,' he said.
The administration evacuated 360 patients from six wards to a safer block. The two injured individuals were transferred to critical care units. Mr. Vasavan accused the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of politicising the tragedy for 'cheap media mileage.' He criticised the Congress for laying siege to the hospital and blocking the ambulance carrying Bindu's dead body to her home.
Organ transplants
Mr. Vasavan also criticised the Congress and the BJP for seeking to tarnish the reputation of the hospital, which was at the forefront of organ transplants and cardiothoracic surgeries in the country. 'A liver transplant at the MCH costs only ₹3 lakh compared to ₹50 lakh charged by a corporate hospital,' he added.
He also criticised the Congress and the BJP for allegedly disparaging hospital superintendent T.K. Jayakumar. 'Dr. Jayakumar, a winner of Kerala Shree and the State government's best doctor award, has conducted upwards of 2,000 heart surgeries, including valve replacement. He is instrumental in executing a ₹526-crore hospital development project, including the 14 surgical theatres, eight super speciality theatres and over 500 beds,' Mr. Vasavan said.