26-yr-old TISS student dies of cardiac arrest, students voice concern on lack of emergency services

Janarthanan, a first-year student of the Master of Public Health in Health Administration (MPH-HA) at the School of Health Systems Studies, reportedly complained of breathlessness between 9.05 am and 9.10 am soon after his class started at the KRH Academic Building

MUMBAI: A 26-year-old postgraduate student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), P Janarthanan, died of cardiac arrest on Monday morning.

26-yr-old TISS student dies of cardiac arrest, students voice concern on lack of emergency services

Janarthanan, a first-year student of the Master of Public Health in Health Administration (MPH-HA) at the School of Health Systems Studies, reportedly complained of breathlessness between 9.05 am and 9.10 am soon after his class started at the KRH Academic Building, on TISS’s new campus in Deonar, said his classmates. The dean of the school and student affairs, Prof Mariappan was taking the class.

One of the students present in the class said Janarthanan’s discomfort was first noticed by some MBBS students – he was having difficulty in breathing and asked for an ambulance, but there were none on campus. Following the professor’s instructions, one of the students rushed Janarthanan in his car, which he had parked in the campus’ parking lot, to Zen Multi-speciality Hospital, in Chembur.

While some students questioned the decision to rush the patient to distant Chembur rather than a hospital near BARC, everyone raised concerns about the lack of emergency medical facilities on the campus.

The TISS administration however clarified that the Chembur hospital was not very far from campus as it is well-equipped to handle emergencies and has had a long association with the institute. The institute, however, did not address allegations about the lack of an ambulance and emergency medical facilities on campus.

In a condolence message, the TISS administration said, “With deep sadness and heavy heart, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of P Janarthanan, the first-year student of the School of Health Systems Studies, who left us too soon.”

The administration added, “As a close-knit community at TISS, we share the grief and sorrow that has befallen us all. The faculty, staff and students of TISS are with the family at this heart-breaking time. Our thoughts and prayers will always be with Janarthanan’s family.”