Kota Infant Deaths: Union Health Minister Writes To Rajasthan CM, Assures Support From Centre

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday (2 January) said that he has written a letter to the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over the deaths of children at Kota in Rajasthan.

"I have written a letter to the Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot requesting him to look into the matter," he said while speaking to mediapersons in Delhi.

"Number of deaths (Kota) is definitely higher this time as compared to the last few years," he added.

One hundred babies have died within a month at the state-run JK Lon Hospital in Kota, triggering questions about negligence by the hospital staff. At least nine infants died in this hospital in the last two days of December.

The Union Health Minister has assured all support from the Centre to the Rajasthan government on the Kota children's deaths.

"We have assured all kind of support from our side," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Rajasthan Chief Minister tweeted: "The government is sensitive to the deaths of sick infants at JK Lone Hospital Kota. There should not be politics on this. Infant mortality in this hospital of Kota is steadily decreasing. We will try to reduce it further. It is our top priority for mothers and children to be healthy."

Gehlot also said that the state is ready to receive advice in the matter from Central government expert teams.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)