Accountability over Kota child deaths must be fixed: Sachin Pilot

Deputy Chief Minister of the state Sachin Pilot has said that their response to the Kota issue could have been more compassionate and sensitive. Following the death of an infant in the morning, the death toll at JK Lon Hospital here has risen to 107.

Kota (Rajasthan): Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Saturday visited Kota's JK Lon Hospital, where over 100 newborns have died in a month and said that accountability should be fixed in the matter.

"I think our response to this issue could have been more compassionate and sensitive. After being in power for 13 months I think it serves no purpose to blame the previous government's misdeeds. Accountability should be fixed," Pilot told reporters here.

Pilot said it was not a small incident and also stressed that accountability for the entire episode should be fixed.

As many as 107 children have died in the hospital. This is very painful. Our response to the entire matter was not satisfactory to some extent. The response could have been more sensitive and we should have been more compassionate, he told reporters.

Following the death of an infant in the morning, the death toll at JK Lon Hospital here has risen to 107, officials said on Saturday.

A three-member state government committee of doctors, that was sent to investigate the matter on December 23 and 24, found that Kota's JK Lon Hospital is short of beds and it requires improvement.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Rajasthan to submit a detailed report within four weeks about the steps being taken to address the issue of child deaths in the Kota hospital.

The Commission also asked the Chief Secretary to ensure that such deaths of the children do not recur in the future due to lack of infrastructure and health facilities at the hospitals.