Bangalore homeless: 20 dead, 40 critical in 48 hours
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COMMENTS 
Twenty homeless people suffering from various ailments and old age have died in the past two days. The authorities have ordered a probe and an inspection of the relief centre in Bangalore where they were lodged
Twenty inmates of the Beggars’ Relief Centre, the only one in Bangalore that houses as many as 2,500 homeless people, have died in the past 48 hours. Nearly 40 inmates, diagnosed as being seriously ill, were admitted to the Epidemic Diseases (Isolation) Hospital and Victoria Hospital. It has emerged that 92 inmates have died in 19 days.
Seeking to downplay the incident, social welfare authorities said the deaths were “mainly due to old age-related ailments”. But the hospital authorities said most were admitted “with severe gastroenteritis”. Doctors who visited the centre said the deaths must have occurred due to “very unhealthy” conditions prevailing at the centre, which aggravated the ailments of some inmates who were already suffering from various illnesses.
Social Welfare Minister D Sudhakar has already ordered an inquiry into the matter. Principal Secretary Venkateshaiah and Commissioner Manjunath Prasad said steps were being taken to ensure that such incidents did not recur. These steps include provision of clean drinking water and medicines to treat inmates who are also suffering from old age-related ailments, they said.
Meanwhile, a team of doctors from Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and Primary Health Centre has been dispatched to the centre to treat the sick inmates, Venkateshaiah added.
Interestingly, while C N Manje Gowda, chairperson of the Central Relief Committee (CRC), insisted that the total number of deaths since August 1 was 43, a committee had provided a list of 92 deaths to the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission that is looking into the deaths.
Pointing to a possible outbreak of gastroenteritis at the centre, G Harimurthy, the only doctor for all the inmates, said the exact cause would be known only after they received the laboratory reports.
Source: The Hindu, August 20, 2010
DNA, August 20, 2010