Ustad Bismillah Khan to be shifted to hospital tomorrow

Varanasi, Aug 16 (UNI) Bed-ridden Shehnai maestro Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan will be shifted to a hospital here tomorrow for treatment.

District Magistrate Rajiv Agrawal, who met the 90-plus music legend at the latter's residence in Harha Sarai here this evening said that the Bharat Ratna, who was hitherto reluctant to leave his house for treatment has agreed on being shifted to Heritage Hospital for treatment.

''He will be shifted to the private hospital in Lanka tomorrow morning, where the state government will meet all expenditure towards his treatment,'' Mr Agrawal maintained.

He further said that though Khan Sahib was only troubled with age-related illness and all his vital organs were functioning well, he is being shifted for better round the clock treatment for deficiency of Potassium, Calcium and Protein.

''A plane has been waiting at the Varanasi Airport to take the bed-ridden Ustad presently being administered fluid intra-veyneous to Lucknow for treatment. But the music legend's determination not to leave Varanasi has left us with no option but to convince him to be shifted to a city based hospital,'' the DM added.

The DM also forwarded greetings of early recovery sent by Uttar Pradesh governor T V Rajeswar to the ailing maestro.

Mr Agrawal also said that he would soon look into the matter of a private news channel airing news of Khan Sahib being hospitalised earlier today.

''I will look into the matter about how any scribe can telecast such a news without even talking to the local officials or the doctors attending to Khan Sahib.'' UNI ARS YA RAI2024