Delhi hospital's havan photograph triggers social media storm

Manipal Hospital in Delhi has drawn criticism for performing havan in its lobby. It has been accused of turning off the fire alarms to perform the havan and risking lives of patients in the process.

New Delhi: A hospital in Delhi has courted controversy on Sunday after a photograph showing havan being conducted inside its premises went viral on social media. The photograph, shared by Hindu resident editor Varghese K George shows four priests performing havan apparently at a hospital's lobby with wheelchairs at the entrance. "God save us. Inside the centrally air conditioned @ManipalHealth Hospital in Dwarka, accompanying a patient with breathing trouble," he tweeted. Responding to the tweet, the concerned hospital, Manipal Health Hospital, apologised.

The twitter post since then has got over 850,000 views, earned over 8,000 likes and has been retweeted more than times 2,000 times with many users criticising the hospital for allowing the havan while some accusing it of flouting the fire fighting norms. There were also speculations that the hospital had turned off their fire alarms for performing the havan. Raising the fire safety issue a user said the hospital's license should be cancelled. He posted, "Why haven't your fire alarms gone off and the sprinkler system activated? Have you shut down the mandatory firefighting system to carry out this ridiculous havan inside the premises? If so, you've put all your patients and staff at risk. Your license ought to be cancelled."

"This seems like a fire hazard also. Did you have permission from the authorities to ignite a pyre inside your building? What would have happened to the patients in critical care had the building caught on fire? I hope you get sued for millions", another user tweeted. A user even claimed that the same hospital had performed a havan when the Delta strain Covid cases were on a rise in 2021 and posted a photograph of that time.

Manipal Hospital responded to the original tweet posting, "Dear Varghese, we want to extend our sincerest apologies concerning all the issues that you have faced. Please DM us your contact details and our team will get back to you as soon as possible. Regards, Manipal Hospitals"