2021 Chamarajanagar District Hospital oxygen tragedy: HC panel gives clean chit to former Mysuru DC
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2021 Chamarajanagar District Hospital oxygen tragedy: HC panel gives clean chit to former Mysuru DC

March 16, 2022

‘Rohini Sindhuri had no role in allotting oxygen to Chamarajanagar district’

Bengaluru: The Fact-Finding Committee constituted by the Karnataka High Court (HC) to look into the Chamarajanagar COVID deaths has given a clean chit to former Mysuru Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rohini Sindhuri, stating she did not have any role in allotting oxygen to Chamarajanagar district.

The three-member Committee of Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, headed by Justice A.N. Venugopala Gowda and Justice K.N. Keshavanarayana, retired Judges, and S.T. Ramesh, retired DG&IGP, was appointed by the High Court to probe the Chamarajanagar District Hospital tragedy where 24 COVID patients died due to lack of oxygen on May 2 and May 3, 2021.

The Committee has concluded that 24 patients died as the Chamarajanagar district authorities failed to provide oxygen to the patients on time between 11 pm on May 2 and early hours on May 3. The panel has dismissed allegations against Rohini Sindhuri where the officer was accused of directing her staff to first ensure that the oxygen requirements of Mysuru should be ensured before supplying oxygen to other districts.

The Committee also cleared the allegations against the former Mysuru DC that she did not respond well to the oxygen crisis in Chamarajanagar. The Committee stated that there is no substance in the allegations.

Committee recommendations

Suggesting a slew of measures to prevent such tragedies in the future, the Committee has stated that the compensation for the victims would be decided by the Court of Law. Records and the hard discs of CCTVs/DVRs have to be retained in the safe custody of the Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, the Committee has stated.

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Recommending that a minimum buffer stock of oxygen to last for 24 hours should be ensured in all the hospitals, the Committee has stated that an officer higher in rank than the DC of the district should be appointed to coordinate the allotment and distribution of oxygen to various District Hospitals in future.

Onus on Regional Commissioner

The Regional Commissioner, Mysuru, should be the oxygen coordinating authority for Mysuru Division, since Mysuru bottling plants and refilling units cater to the requirements not only of Mysuru but also those of Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu and Hassan districts, the Committee has stated.

Maintenance of records regarding receipt, consumption and balance of oxygen stock should be uniform throughout the State and such a record should indicate the balance of oxygen stock on a real-time basis. The real-time oxygen balance should also be displayed digitally at all hospitals, the Committee has recommended.

GPS technology

 It should be made compulsory that all vehicles carrying refilled medical oxygen cylinders should be installed with GPS. Such trucks should also have a covered body which should be locked and sealed before dispatch, to be opened by the consignees only, the HC panel has said.

The bottling plant, M/s Trinetra, in Mysuru city is non-functional. In times of high oxygen demand and shortages, the Government should take proactive steps to revive and ensure that non-functional bottling plants like Trinetra are made operational as early as possible, the Committee has observed.

All COVID hospitals must be provided with four levels of oxygen source — oxygen generation plants in all the hospitals having 100 or more oxygenated beds, liquid oxygen tanks of appropriate capacity commensurate with the demand of the hospital, jumbo cylinders and oxygen concentrators — the Committee has stated.

5 COMMENTS ON THIS POST To “2021 Chamarajanagar District Hospital oxygen tragedy: HC panel gives clean chit to former Mysuru DC”

  1. Howdy, Modi! says:

    Typical corrupt India, where human lives, of those who are poor and not VIPs are so cheap. The Committee should have investigated whether there were any VIPs admitted to this hospital-they would not have as they go good hospitals like the Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru. 24 death resulting in mismanagement/lack of oxygen in any Wester country will be a very serious offence, and many including the health minister would have resigned , and punished.
    But this 24 is a small number in Modi’s India in 2020/21 when oxygen supplies were sparse, and thousands of Indians died. Total estimated to be in region of half-a-million people. Whenever there was dearth of oxygen, the priority was for VIPs, to the extent of removing oxygen from a poorer patients and giving to the VIP patient.
    This committee report is a typical white wash, flimsy and lucky the DC escaped! or the committee told not to accuse her-must have been a clandestine order from the highest authorities in India! This is India, after 70+ years of independence!!
    Every Indian should be ashamed of this situation.
    Oh, Chandra Prakash the MGP member wrote a few articles explaining how wonderful Mysuru is as a medical city and arguing that patients from Western countries should come there for treatment. Well, very good reputation indeed .
    Pathetic. Well, this independent corrupt third world India.

  2. Howdy, Modi! says:

    Typical corrupt India, where human lives, of those who are poor and not VIPs are so cheap. The Committee should have investigated whether there were any VIPs admitted to this hospital-they would not have as they go good hospitals like the Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru. 24 death resulting in mismanagement/lack of oxygen in any Wester country will be a very serious offence, and many including the health minister would have resigned , and punished.
    But this 24 is a small number in Modi’s India in 2020/21 when oxygen supplies were sparse, and thousands of Indians died. Total estimated to be in region of half-a-million people. Whenever there was dearth of oxygen, the priority was for VIPs, to the extent of removing oxygen from a poorer patients and giving to the VIP patient.
    This committee report is a typical white wash, flimsy and lucky the DC escaped! or the committee told not to accuse her-must have been a clandestine order from the highest authorities in India! This is India, after 70+ years of independence!!
    Every Indian should be ashamed of this situation.
    Oh, Chandra Prakash the MGP member wrote a few articles explaining how wonderful Mysuru is as a medical city and arguing that patients from Western countries should come there for treatment. Well, very good reputation indeed .
    Pathetic. Well, this independent corrupt third world India.

  3. Jhunjhunwalla says:

    “The Committee has concluded that 24 patients died as the Chamarajanagar district authorities failed to provide oxygen to the patients on time between 11 pm on May 2 and early hours on May 3. The panel has dismissed allegations against Rohini Sindhuri where the officer was accused of directing her staff to first ensure that the oxygen requirements of Mysuru should be ensured before supplying oxygen to other districts”
    Unbelievable, that the committee, accused some unknown lowly district authorities without naming names, and let go this DC . The committee must have been heavily pressurised to declare her as innocent of this dreadful deaths caused by not allocating oxygen supplies. DC s else wwere in India do the allocations, as the DC ‘s authorities are the same all mover India , as the central cadre of officials. It is the same in Maharashtra here, where the DCs are responsible for allocations like this.
    Despicable negligence and again political patronage allows a DC to escape of any responsibility.

  4. Questo says:

    24 deaths due to sheer negligence. The DCs are chief district officers, which by the definition of the ICS model Sirdar Patel adapted for the IAS cadre, they are responsible for all matters of distribution. Hence, this report is very puzzling indeed.
    Andhra Reddis are very powerful politically. She is a Reddy. What was the district minister doing.
    Lives are cheap in this corrupt cesspit, India! Jai Hind!!

  5. Questo says:

    24 deaths due to sheer negligence. The DCs are chief district officers, which by the definition of the ICS model Sirdar Patel adapted for the IAS cadre, they are responsible for all matters of distribution. Hence, this report is very puzzling indeed.
    Andhra Reddis are very powerful politically. She is a Reddy. What was the district minister doing.
    Lives are cheap in this corrupt cesspit, India! Jai Hind!!

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