Gorakhpur tragedy: Yogi says lack of oxygen not cause, assures stern action

Rejecting reports that lack of oxygen supply was responsible for deaths of over 60 children in a government hospital in Gorakhpur in the last five days, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Saturday that a committee has been set up under the Chief Secretary to go into the gas supplier's role and other lapses.

He and his Health Minister Siddharthnath Singh quoted figures of child deaths in August over a period of three years and after the BJP government came to power to claim that the deaths have occurred due to vector-borne diseases like Japanese Encephalitis highly prevalent in the region.

Flanked by Union Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel and the state Health and Medical Education Ministers at a press conference, Adityanath asserted that stringent action will be taken against those found guilty.

He and Siddharth Nath Singh contended that there has been no death due to lack of oxygen supply to Gorakhpur's Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Hospital, but did concede there was a problem in supply of liquid oxygen for four hours on August 10 which was made up by the system switching to cylinders.
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