SUM fallout: BJP seeks Naveen Patnaik scalp

A day after Odisha health and family welfare minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak resigned following the recent fire at SUM Hospital in the city, the state BJP unit on Saturday intensified its demand seeking resignation of chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

After BJP chief Basant Panda and party leader Bijoy Mohapatra, Union petroleum minister Dhar-mendra Pradhan joined in seeking Mr Patnaik’s resignation.

“The chief minister himself holds the home department. The fire department comes under it. The CM is answerable for the mishap. Our party has already pressed

for his resignation. However, the men in charge of the state administration are trying to divert attention from the core issue,” Mr Pradhan told reporters.

“The issue is neither about one hospital nor one building... What was the law on fire safety during previous years ” he said.

One more dies, toll 26 The death toll in the Sum Hospital fire mishap reached 26 on Saturday as a person undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital here succumbed to injuries.

The deceased was identified as Kartikeswar Das of Gada Gopinath Prasad Colony in Rasulgarh area of Bhubaneswar. He was shifted to Apollo Hospital for treatment after the fire broke out in the hospital on Monday evening. On Friday, four persons had died while undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

At least 19 patients undergoing treatment at the Sum Hospital had died due to asphyxiation owing to the massive fire on October 17 evening. The fire started from the medicine store inside the hospital.