Four serious blast victims shifted outside Tripura

{image-agartala serial blasts_05102008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Agartala, Oct 5: The Tripura government has shifted four people, critically injured in the serial blasts in Agartala on Wednesday, Oct 1, to Kolkata and Guwahati while bringing two specialist doctors of facial surgery from outside the state for providing better treatment to the victims.

Sources at the Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital here on Sunday, Oct 5 said three of the shifted persons were hit by poisonous chemical splinters used in the bombs and the fourth person was suffering from serious eye injuries and had already been shifted to Guwahati. ''All three persons suffering from infections are stated to be critical and three senior doctors have accompanied them,'' doctors at the Agartala Government Medical College and GBP Hospital said.

Meanwhile, the victims' families alleged of poor treatment facilities and service in the hospital and said inadequate medication immediately after the incident had increased the complications of the victims.

They also expressed dissatisfaction over the state government's support to the victims and said in the name of free treatment in the hospitals, the authorities could not even provide basic services, including nursing and drinking water facilities, and essential medications like bandage and tetanus injections were also donated by other people.

''Parmita Livingstone, executive editor of a leading daily, has contributed more than Rs 10,000 for procuring basic medicines and nursing staff and on the next day Congress leaders paid about Rs 13,000 for the same purpose to the medicine shops in the hospital area,'' a relative of one of the victims said.

He pointed out that since the government announced free treatment, the doctors could not ask the patients' families to buy the medicines and other nursing kits even though the stocks were not sufficient in the hospital and as a result, the treatment got hampered.

The BJP announced cash compensation of Rs 50,000 to each of the six critically injured persons and criticised the government's decision to pay compensation of only Rs 5,000 and free medical treatment.

Congress MLA of the area where the blasts occurred and Public Accounts Committee Chairman Sudip Roy Barman lashed out at Chief Minister Manik Sarkar for the government decision of paying only Rs 5,000 and free medical treatment.

UNI