Delhi Hospitals Blamed for Reckless Negligence as Deaths Skyrocket

Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Monday blamed the city's crumbling health model, water supply systems, and sanitation infrastructure for the alarming deaths in Delhi hospitals last year, attributing nearly 21,000 fatalities to contaminated water, mosquitoes, and dirt.

Saxena, who shared his concerns on X, alleged that the government's inaction has led to a "colossal" collapse of the city's healthcare infrastructure. He stated that he was "flagging" this as a "concerned citizen," citing the grim statistics from the Delhi government's directorate of economics and statistics report.

The report reveals that water-borne and communicable diseases, including cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, tuberculosis, leprosy, diphtheria, tetanus, septicaemia, hepatitis B, HIV, and malaria, were the leading causes of death in 2023. The number of people dying from cancer increased by 12% compared to 2022.

Moreover, the data shows that children under the age of 14 accounted for 13% of all deaths, while workers between 14 and 64 years old comprised 57% of institutional deaths. In contrast, only 6% were in the 14-24 age group, with 19% in the 25-44 bracket.

Saxena criticized the government for spreading propaganda over the issue, urging them to take immediate action to address this crisis. No immediate reaction from the AAP was available at press time.