A "filthy" toilet in a government hospital in Maharashtra's Nanded was cleaned by no less than the dean after an MP from the ruling Shiv Sena asked him to do so. Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MP Hemant Patil paid a visit to the Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital on Tuesday after the deaths made national news. When Patil noticed a filthy toilet, he grabbed the hospital's dean, Shyamrao Wakode, and urged him to clean it.
The MP could be seen standing and holding a pipe as the dean emptied the toilet and placed a container, a bottle, and a toilet brush on a window in the video. Patil can then be seen spraying water into the toilet as Wakode, equipped with a wiper, directs unclean water into the toilet.
"You don't have simple mugs (in the toilet) and you shout at people who don't use toilets. Do you (doctors and the dean) behave similarly at your home?" Patil can be heard saying.
He then told the doctor go grab another bucket. "Do you have only one bucket in this medical college?" Patil asked.
Speaking with a news channel, Patil stated: "The government spends crores but I am pained to see the situation here. The toilets have not been cleaned for months. The toilets in the wards of the hospital are locked. No water is available in toilets," PTI reported.
"I went to the office of the dean where I saw that the wash basin is broken and the tap has no water," he said.
Patil said he will ask the chief minister to order the registration of complaints against these government employees who are irresponsible at work.
The chief minister stated that the state government took the fatalities at the Nanded hospital extremely seriously and promised appropriate action following a thorough investigation. He denied any shortages of drugs or personnel.
The hospital recorded 24 deaths in 24 hours on Monday, and 31 deaths in 48 hours on Tuesday. 71 individuals are stated to be in critical condition.
Speaking about the incident with media, Maharashtra's Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif stated: "The issue of housekeeping is very serious, we have taken that seriously... They still have Rs 4-5 crores. Why didn't they purchase medicines? Our committee will give an answer...We will bring the medical college staff here...There is no issue of funding but why didn't they purchase medicines on time, we will investigate this."
Wakode had denied charges of medical incompetence on Monday, claiming that there was no scarcity of drugs or physicians. He stated that the patients were given adequate care but did not respond to it.
The opposition has targeted Maharashtra's Eknath Shinde-led administration, which is made up of the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), the BJP, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)'s Ajit Pawar faction.