India News | Optometry Students Association at AIIMS on Relay Hunger Strike After Student Death
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Optometry Students Association at AIIMS have begun a relay hunger strike over a first-year student succumbing to Covid and swine flu, alleging he was "denied" an ambulance by the authorities which led to his death.
New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) The Optometry Students Association at AIIMS have begun a relay hunger strike over a first-year student succumbing to Covid and swine flu, alleging he was "denied" an ambulance by the authorities which led to his death.
Abhishek Malviya, the first-year optometry student, died on August 13. The same day, members of the association sat on strike, claiming Malviya was not provided an ambulance since he was not a hostel resident.
They also alleged the AIIMS authorities were not providing hostel accommodation to paramedical students.
Malviya, who had breathing issues, was “denied” an ambulance as he did not live on the hostel campus. Due to this, it took two to three hours for him to reach the AIIMS emergency department where his condition was declared “critical” and later placed on ECMO after his lung function collapsed. He was declared dead on August 13, the Optometry Students Association claimed in a statement.
Also Read | Excise Policy Row: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia Is Accused No 1 in CBI FIR.
"Had there been a hostel, he would have survived," it added.
The AIIMS administration said that there has been a progressive increase in the number of students at AIIMS, New Delhi, and there is a severe shortage of hostels for all students.
"Students of BSc paramedical courses are not provided hostels at AIIMS since 2020. This is written in the prospectus for these courses and all students are fully aware of this provision at the time of applying for admission. This is also the case for many other institutions and other AIIMS.
"This has been communicated to the students on many occasions through past meetings and their representations have also been forwarded to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. There is provision for expansion of hostels for all students in the AIIMS masterplan," the hospital said in a statement.
According to it, students were invited to send their representatives to talk to the director but they refused. Thereafter, the dean, associate dean and deputy hostel superintendent met the agitating students to understand their grievances.
The director had also met the students and assured them that their grievances would be looked into.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)