Two days on, a neighbourhood in East Delhi grapples with the loss of 6 young lives

Conversations about the lack of fire safety measures are prevalent in the neighbourhood. “There is still no electricity at the neighbours’ house… Thankfully, the fire was doused in time or the whole area could have burnt down,” remarked Rakesh Tikri, a bystander.

“All politicians are now talking about this… mamla bada ho gaya hai ab toh (the issue has become significant now),” said Satender, another resident.

Meanwhile, the five surviving newborns of the 12 pulled out of the burning hospital were transferred to the East Delhi Advanced NICU. The Indian Express visited this three-storey clinic and found it was dimly lit, with the only light source being the reception’s tube light. No windows were visible on the upper floors. The ground floor housed the reception area; on the second floor, the NICU was to the right and an OPD was to the left. Balconies and windows provide some ventilation.

There were a few more health facilities nearby.

Adjoining the NICU was Singh Nursing Home. It has two entrances — one via a narrow staircase inside and another outside. The ground floor includes the reception, doctor’s chambers, and a general ward, while the second floor has the operation theatre. A nurse at the reception did not permit a visit to the upper floors.
A few metres away was Gupta Multi-Speciality Hospital. The ground floor featured a reception area, while the first floor had two washrooms, a metal-framed changing room cubicle, two medical rooms, and a small breastfeeding area — all confined in a small space. The second floor was a makeshift area for nurses, with six to seven rooms.

When asked for comment on what fire safety measures they have in place, staff at all three hospitals did not respond.

In addition to the private healthcare units for maternity and neonatal care, the area is packed with numerous diagnostic centres. Nearly every other establishment along the main roads of Laxmi Nagar, Anand Vihar, Preet Vihar and Vivek Vihar houses a private healthcare facility, with many others situated inside alleys.

Pankaj Luthra, a BJP councillor from Jhilmil ward, said, “Those who visit the private maternity hospitals in my area — two of them are in commercial areas — are people from adjoining localities that don’t have sufficient public and private infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, other MCD councillors said they have started getting hospitals in their areas inspected in the light of Saturday’s tragedy.

“There are 20 big private healthcare units in my ward and many smaller ones… we have started inspecting the big hospitals; most had adequate fire safety measures in place. We will start checking the small units in the next few days,” said Ramesh Garg, a BJP MCD councillor from Preet Vihar.