200 patients evacuated as fire breaks out at Kolkata hospital
KOLKATA: More than 200 patients were evacuated and medicines worth ₹5 crore gutted after a fire broke out in the pharmacy of the state-run Calcutta Medical College and Hospital’s main building here Wednesday morning, fire officials said.
No one was injured in the blaze that broke out at 8.30am on the ground floor. However, a patient, who had been evacuated, died after being transferred to the emergency department, his family said. Hospital authorities did not comment on the death till the filing of the report. Ten fire tenders took nearly five hours to douse the fire.
Established in 1835, Calcutta Medical College is India’s oldest institute practising allopathic medicine. The affected building houses the departments of haematology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, internal medicine and cardiology.
Thick smoke was seen billowing from the ground floor of building . Medicines stocked in the dispensary were reduced to ashes.
West Bengal’s minister of state for health Chandrima Bhattacharya told reporters that more than 200 patients have been shifted to other wards in the hospital as well as to other hospitals.
“Medicines stored in the pharmacy have been wasted but the stocks are being replenished,” Bhattacharya added.
Hospital staff said they began evacuation as soon as they spotted smoke. “When I saw the smoke I raised an alarm and evacuation started almost immediately,” said Shankar Rao, a temporary staff.
Jag Mohan, director general of fire services, said the flames were brought under control by 1.45 pm. “A thorough investigation will be conducted to detect the source of fire,” he said.
City mayor and fire services minister Sovan Chatterjee said the hospital was equipped to handle fire mishaps, which helped the fire brigade control the blaze quickly. On the availability of medicines in the hospital, he said, “There is no cause for panic.”
In the afternoon, chief minister Mamata Banerjee ordered two enquiries to be conducted simultaneously by the public works department (PWD) and fire services department. “Since PWD is in charge of maintenance of the hospital, it should find out if there had been any lapses,” said a state government official who did not wish to be named.
In the past one month, Bengal has witnessed several disasters including four bridge collapses and two major fires.
“When a private hospital catches fire the chief minister parks herself at the spot and promises action against culprits. But the process of identifying the guilty has not even started at Calcutta Medical College,” alleged Congress Rajya Sabha member Pradip Bhattacharya.
BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said the collapse of Majerhat Bridge, fire at Bagree Market, Tuesday’s explosion at Nagerbazar and the fire at the medical college were not isolated incidents. “It proves that no one has any control over the administration,” he alleged.
The incident comes 17 days after Bagree Market, located in Kolkata’s trading hub of Burrabazar, was gutted.