In a shocking incident in Pune, TV9 Marathi's journalist Pandurang Raykar did not get a cardiac ambulance from the city's Jumbo COVID Centre to go to the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital after his oxygen level dropped which led to his death on Wednesday. He was 42.
NCP MP Supriya Sule condoled the death of the journalist. "Pandurang Raikar, a young journalist from Pune, passed away. We all share the grief of the family after the devastating incident. A heartfelt tribute," she wrote.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Nitesh Rane has demanded Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's resignation over the incident.
Here is the sequence of events:
1. Pandurang Raykar suffered from cold and fever on August 20, after which he went to the doctor for treatment.
2. He was tested for COVID-19 on August 27. However, the test was negative.
3. The next day, he went to his village Kopargaon in Ahmednagar district.
4. His health deteriorated at his village and his antigen test also came positive.
5. On the night of August 30, he was brought to Pune by ambulance for treatment. He was admitted to the newly-inaugurated Jumbo Hospital's ICU.
6. Raykar's conditioned further worsened. On Tuesday, his oxygen level dropped to 78 and he needed a cardiac ambulance to transfer him to the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital which is barely 7 km from the Jumbo COVID Centre. Many failed attempts were made to get an ambulance. An ambulance didn't have a ventilator, another didn't have a doctor.
7. An ambulance finally reached early morning but by then Raykar had passed away at 5.30 AM.
8. Pandurang Raykar's family has alleged lack of care at COVID centre. She said, "There's chaos, doctors aren't trained. They made centres worth crores but couldn't arrange cardiac ambulance to shift him, that's why he died."
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister and Pune's Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar has ordered a probe into the matter, reported TV9 Marathi.
