A 50-year-old woman, Ushaben Parekh, collapsed and died while waiting in the queue for darshan at the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal on Monday.
A 50-year-old woman, Ushaben Parekh, collapsed and died while waiting in the queue for darshan at the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal on Monday.
Parekh's family members allege she died from suffocation, and was still alive when she was taken to KEM Hospital, says Zee Media and Mumbai Mirror. However, she was not administered critical care within hour, claims the family.
The distraught family says the ambulance in which she was rushed to KEM Hospital was unequipped to handle cardiac emergencies, and the doctor attending her was not a cardiologist. Adding to the situation was the traffic chaos in the pandal's vicinity, which led to delay in reaching the hospital.
According to a diary entry regarding the incident at Kalachowkie police station, she collapsed around 7.50 pm, says Mumbai Mirror.
"My mother couldn't get any medical attention after collapsing. She had gone to visit the pandal alone. We were informed by her friend, whose number was found in her mobiler's dialled numbers list by the pandal volunteers. She was declared dead before admission at KEM," said Parekh's daughter Apeksha to Mumbai Mirror.
She added "When the Lalbaug committee knows a huge number of people visit the pandal, arrangements for medical emergencies should be in place. It's the richest Ganesh pandal in the country. I lost my mother to this lethargy, and I don't want anyone else to suffer similarly."
Apparently, the woman had undergone bypass surgery three years ago and the family had informed KEM hospital of the same.
While KEM Hospital referred the body to JJ Hospital for post mortem, the family obtained certification from a private medical practicioner that the cause of death could be cardiac arrest as she was on medication for cardiac problems. The autopsy was therefore not carried out before handing the body over to family members.
Avinash Supe, Dean, KEM Hospital, said, "We tried to revive her with Cardio Pulmonary Resustication (CPR), but she died before she could be admitted. There was froth coming out of her mouth and nose, which could be due to cardiac respiratory failure. We had referred the body to JJ Hospital for forensic post mortem, after which the body would be handed over to the family."
The Lalbaugcha Raja committee appoints private doctors and the ambulance used is one hired or owned by them. We haven't been contacted to provide any medical assistance at the pandal," he added, shifting the blame.
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