NC MPs anguished over massive fire at B&J Hospital Barzulla

Srinagar, Mar 5: National Conference (NC) Members of Parliament on Saturday expressed profound anguish over the massive fire that broke out in Kashmir’s premier tertiary care Bone and Joint Hospital Barzulla in Srinagar district on Friday late evening.
In a joint statement, Party MPs Dr Farooq Abdullah, Muhammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi expressed grief over the tragic accident at Kashmir’s premier B&J Hospital in Barzulla.
They said owing to the suitable and centrally located site of the hospital, the new facility should come up at the same site. The MPs said that until the new facility comes up, a stop gap arrangement should be put in place at the same site to cater to the out and inpatient rush.
Given the significance and centrality of the hospital, the administration should take up reconstruction work immediately and execute it in double shifts, they demanded.
The trio also urged the government to carry out a fire safety audit of all hospitals across Kashmir to prevent fire incidents in medical institutions and ensure that lapses found in the fire safety audits are corrected forthwith. They said that compliance to fire safety norms should be ensured at all primary, secondary and tertiary health care centres across the region.
The MPs appreciated the local people, Fire Services men and Hospital Staff for evacuating patients safely from the hospital building and urged the Govt to take prompt measures to reconstruct the gutted hospital building, on a war footing basis.
Meanwhile a delegation of Party functionaries comprising of Party Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar, Provincial President YNC Salman Ali Sagar, Provincial Vice President Kashmir Ahsan Pardesi, Additional Spokesperson Ifra Jan, YNC functionaries Irfan Zehgeer, Sheikh Ovaise, Abid Wani, Hashim Hussain and local unit functionaries also visited Bones and Joints Hospital in Barzulla earlier today.
They urged the government to take immediate steps to arrange a makeshift arrangement within the same premises till the reconstruction work is completed. The delegation also demanded an immediate fire audit of all hospitals and asked the government to work on a war footing basis to start services from the same compound.
The visiting delegation interacted with hospital staff and locals who put extraordinary efforts to save people.