HYDERABAD, TRINET NEWS, SEPTEMBER 23:
National BC Dal President and advocate Dundra Kumaraswamy has described the tragic death of three newborns in a fire and smoke incident on September 21 at the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of RIMS, Adilabad, as deeply disturbing. He expressed grave concern that several other infants fell ill and had to be shifted to other hospitals. He stated that this incident raises serious questions regarding emergency safety standards, electrical systems, AC maintenance, firefighting facilities, and emergency evacuation arrangements in government hospitals.
Stating that he has lodged a complaint with the Telangana State Human Rights Commission, Kumaraswamy demanded an impartial and comprehensive inquiry from a human rights perspective to fix accountability. He urged the government to provide immediate financial aid, necessary medical support, psychological backing, and adequate compensation to the grieving families of the deceased infants.
Dundra Kumaraswamy demanded that the government take immediate steps to conduct safety audits across all government hospitals in the state to prevent such tragic incidents from recurring. He urged authorities to carry out special safety audits on electrical systems, air conditioning equipment, fire safety, emergency exits, alarms, backup power, and evacuation plans in all SNCUs, ICUs, and other emergency wards, and to rectify flaws immediately.
He further demanded strict action against officials found primarily negligent in the incident. To prevent any interference with the probe, he called for the immediate suspension of responsible officials—particularly the RIMS Director/Superintendent—until the investigation is completed. He asserted that fixing accountability and delivering justice to the affected families in this critical matter concerning infant lives is the immediate responsibility of the government.
