Kin allege 12 died in MP due to ‘oxygen shortage’, govt and hospital dismiss claim

Madhya Pradesh medical education minister Vishwas Sarang said there was no shortage of oxygen and that a probe was ordered.

Updated on: Apr 19, 2021, 04:58:57 IST

By Shruti Tomar, Monika Pandey, Hindustan Times, Bhopal, Jabalpur

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At least 12 Covid-19 patients died due to alleged shortage of oxygen in a medical college in Shahdol on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, the families of the deceased said, even as Madhya Pradesh medical education minister Vishwas Sarang asserted that no deaths took place for lack of supply.

MP Congress chief Kamal Nath said chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is lying about oxygen supply. (MINT_PRINT representative image)

“My brother was fine at 9pm on Saturday. The doctors told me that they were giving oxygen to him and he will be fine. But at 4am on Sunday, people began shouting that there was a shortage of oxygen. The patients were not getting oxygen. The family members tried to enter the ward but the hospital staff stopped us,” Prem Kevrani, whose 31-year-old brother succumbed to the infection, said on Sunday.

“Later, I entered the ward and checked my brother. His body had turned cold and there were 11 others who died in the ward. The hospital staff said they died as they did not get proper oxygen,” he added.

Sarang, however, said there was no shortage of oxygen and that a probe was ordered. “The serious patients died due to medical complications but an inquiry has been ordered in the matter to know the cause of the death of so many patients in one night.”

Shahdol medical college dean Dr Milind Shilarkar said: “An oxygen tanker was scheduled to reach Shahdol on Saturday but it didn’t reach the medical college due to some mechanical issue... But, we were providing oxygen through small cylinders. The patients were admitted in a serious condition and they died due to health complications.”

Attacking the government, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath said: “CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is lying about oxygen supply by giving fake data. When will this end?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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