Madhya Pradesh Man Denied Ambulance, Rushed To Hospital On Scooter, Dies

In two separate incidents in Madhya Pradesh, two men died after they were allegedly denied ambulance services.

In the first incident 60-year-old Pandu Chandane, a resident of Indore, died after he had trouble breathing. On Monday, he visited the hospital and was given some medicines. However, the situation worsened the next day and the family called for an ambulance but was denied. Left without help, the family members rushed him to 'MY Hospital' on a two-wheeler. Pandu Chandane was declared dead after he reached the hospital.

However, Indore's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Praveen Jadia refuted the allegations. "The man had gone to the hospital on Monday and returned home that day. On Tuesday he was first taken to a private hospital, from where he was referred to MY Hospital. But when he reached there he was declared "brought dead", NDTV quoted Dr Jadia as saying.

The second incident took place in Khadakpura in district Khandwa where 65-year-old Sheikh Hamid died after being denied ambulance services. Sheikh Hamid was already suffering from blood sugar issues and high blood pressure. He too was ridden on a scooter to the hospital where the doctors declared him dead.

Senior Congress leader and former MP Arun Yadav lashed out at the BJP led state government.

"Shivraj Singh-ji, you can praise yourself as much as you want. But please see this video from your city of dreams - Indore - in which this patient went running after three hospitals, still didn't get an ambulance and got only "death"! His body was taken to hospital on a Scooty!" Mr Yadav tweeted.

BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal hit back at the Congress party and said they were jumping the gun before getting details.

"Congress is in the habit of jumping the gun before getting details. Any death is unfortunate. The government will look into this matter," he said, wrote NDTV.

The newly formed government drew flak from the opposition for failing to appoint a dedicated Minister for Health or Home in the state despite the intensity of the Coronavirus crisis.

Meanwhile, Indore has emerged as the hotspot of COVID-19 cases, with a total of 544 cases after 117 fresh cases were reported on April 15. This amounts to 70 per cent of the total cases in Madhya Pradesh.

As the number of cases surged past 11,000 in the country, the Prime Minister, Tuesday announced an extension of the 21-day lockdown, till May 3. The number of deaths has reached 377. The lockdown is likely to leave a lasting impact on the socio-economics of India.

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