PMC sends notice to Galaxy care Hospital asking it to down shutters

The authorities inspected the hospital and found out that the hospital neither followed safety measures, nor did it have proper fire fighting equipment

After a major fire broke out in the operation theatre of Galaxy Care Hospital on Karve Road earlier this week, the civic body yesterday sent a notice to the facility asking the management to shut it down for not complying with the mandatory fire safety rules.

The fire brigade authorities inspected the hospital and found that the hospital didn’t have proper fire fighting equipment in place; besides it didn’t follow the safety measures that could come handy in case of an emergency.

Lucky enough: The fire started in the operation theatre on the first floor. No casualty was reported as the fire personnel rescued all the patients just in time. file pic

As the relatives of Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak own the hospital, several civic activists and corporators alleged that the PMC is going soft on the hospital. However, the PMC yesterday served notice to the hospital. “It took us three days to give notice to them, as we’re investigating the matter. Besides, we have to follow certain procedures. The allegations made by some people are baseless, and there is no pressure on from any higher authority,” said Dr ST Pardeshi, chief health officer of the PMC.

The hospital had to get a NOC from the fire department after meeting the terms of the obligatory fire safety rules by March-end. “The hospital submitted an affidavit in the PMC asking for a grace period of three months.

In that affidavit, the authorities had clearly mentioned that in case they fail to meet safety rules the civic body can take strict action against them,” Pardeshi added. According to Bombay Nursing Home Act, if hospital keeps functioning even after getting the notice, the civic body can initiate a criminal case against hospital authorities.

Despite repeated attempts, the hospital management remained unavailable for comment.u00a0

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