Bhandara hospital fire: Probe panel says short-circuit cause of fire, blames officials

“The report has blamed certain officials, including District Civil Surgeon Pramod Khandate, for not doing certain things in time that could have prevented the mishap,” said sources. They, however, refused to give details of what exactly had to be done but wasn’t done in time.

The committee however, did not recommend any action against the officials responsible for the mishap. “It is for the government to decide what action should be taken,” sources said.

Among the recommendations by the committee are a separate cadre for posts like Civil Surgeon, District Health Officer and Tahsil Health Officer, instead of them being appointed to the post as per seniority from among doctors in the general cadre. “They must, however, be chosen from among doctors only,” the committee has said. This cadre should be given special training for dealing with such exigencies, the panel has recommended.

The other major recommendation was to have a system of CCTV cameras pulled in on one platform to facilitate its monitoring at different levels, from local right up to the state level.

However, Maharashtra Health Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas said he was yet to receive the report. P Rahangdale, director of Maharashtra Fire Services, said he has submitted an inquiry report to detail how the fire started, but refused to comment further.