Jhansi hospital fire: A stark indictment of Yogi Adityanath govt's failures

The horrific fire at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Jhansi, which claimed the lives of 10 newborn babies, has exposed the Uttar Pradesh government’s glaring negligence and a lack of accountability in safeguarding public healthcare facilities.

Despite its repeated claims of development and welfare, the Yogi Adityanath-led government has once again shown its inability to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the state government hurriedly announced a high-level committee to investigate the incident, headed by the Director General of Medical Education & Training.

While the committee’s mandate includes identifying the cause of the fire and recommending preventive measures, such inquiries in the past have often resulted in eyewash, with no real accountability or reforms.

The administration’s announcement of financial assistance Rs5 lakh for the families of deceased infants and Rs 50,000 for the injured feels like an attempt to buy silence rather than address the systemic rot.

The question remains: can monetary compensation erase the trauma or bring justice to the families who lost their babies in an entirely preventable tragedy?

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), while issuing notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police sought report on the incidents.

But, UP watchers say, the Commission has failed to go beyond its standard playbook of asking for reports. By limiting its intervention to a week-long deadline for a response, the NHRC seems to be treating this calamity as just another item on its agenda rather than a pressing humanitarian crisis that demands immediate and forceful action.

The NHRC’s statements, though critical, fail to address the larger issue of systemic negligence. The commission’s passive approach raises questions about its commitment to holding the state government accountable.

Reports suggest that an electrical short circuit triggered the fire, raising alarms about the safety protocol in state-run hospitals. The NICU housed 54 newborns, yet there appears to have been no contingency plan, no functioning fire safety systems, and no adequate response mechanisms in place.

This tragedy is not an isolated incident. It reflects a chronic failure of Yogi model of governance, where the focus on cosmetic infrastructure projects takes precedence over critical investments in healthcare safety and maintenance.

The state government’s priorities seem to lie on propaganda, leaving hospitals ill-equipped and overburdened.

It is worth mentioning here that this is not the first time the Uttar Pradesh government has been caught unprepared in the face of a healthcare disaster.

From the Gorakhpur oxygen tragedy in 2017 to the COVID-19 mismanagement, the Yogi administration has repeatedly demonstrated its incompetence. The systemic neglect of public hospitals, coupled with a lack of accountability for officials, has created a ticking time bomb across the state's healthcare facilities.