Indore: Two minor survivors fight death with a smile

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The two minor survivors of the Khargone tanker blast case are giving a tough fight to death with a smile due to their zeal to live.

As many as 15 of the 17 survivors, who were shifted to MY Hospital after the incident, succumbed to their burns and only 13-year-old Laxmi Solanki and 12-year-old Shivani Dawar are fighting, in what appears to be, a winning battle

The tanker blast in Khargone had heaped miseries on these two girls as they saw their family members dying next to them in the ward of the burn unit.

 But these two girls did not cave in and kept their spirits up. They even made beautiful drawings during the activities organised to celebrate Children’s Day in the hospital.

"Laxmi, who had 53 per cent burns, and Shivani, who had 27 per cent burns, are the only two surviving out of the 17 patients shifted to MY Hospital after the tragic tanker blast in Khargone that took place on October 25. These girls are recovering well and responding to the treatment. However, they are still under observation," HoD paediatrics Dr Brijesh Lahoti said.

"We are still keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that we can discharge one of the two girls in a day or two," Dr Lahoti said.

Meanwhile, the burn unit's nodal officer Dr Sachin Verma said that they performed a cadaveric skin grafting on one of the girls on Monday.

"Both girls are responding well to the treatment but they are still under observation. We are giving all possible treatment to them along with trying to make a comfortable environment for them so that they can heal mentally from the scar of the tragic incident," Dr Verma said.

MoHFW official inspects burn unit

Pallavi Singh, an officer of the ministry of health and family welfare inspected the newly constructed burn unit at MY Hospital on Monday.

 "She expressed her satisfaction with the construction and the facilities. She also emphasised getting the burn unit and trauma unit staff trained from AIIMS, New Delhi," Dr Verma said.

Meanwhile, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College has failed to start the new burn unit even after two years of starting the work.

Singh has come to take note of the funds utilised by the college to develop the facility to provide better treatment to burn victims and to reduce fatalities. The ministry had given funds under the National Programme for Prevention and Management of Burn Injuries to develop the burn unit and to upgrade the facility.