Seventy children have died at the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur in the first five days of November. Most cases are allegedly related to premature birth, low birth weight and septicemia.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has represented Gorakhpur constituency for a record five consecutive terms in the Lok Sabha. In November, 13 children died on the very first day, 11 on second, 18 on third, 15 on fourth and 13 on the fifth day. The hospital is yet to compile the number of deaths since then. 

Dr DK Srivastava, head of the hospital’s community medicine department, said that we are catering to a population of around 5 crore in eastern UP, western Bihar and Nepal. Premature babies first go to local doctors and then come to us in a critical condition. Despite our best efforts, at least one-third of the children die.

Dr PK Singh, principal of the medical college, said: “There was a sudden spurt in the number of cases on two days… I have asked the paediatric department head to compile a detailed report. But different medical reasons appear to be behind the deaths, especially premature births in case of NICU deaths.”