New Delhi: As the death toll in the Nanded government hospital continues to rise (35 at the last count), another hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously Aurangabad) district has recorded 24 deaths in a matter of 24 hours. In a matter of 48 hours, a total of 59 have died allegedly due to lack of medicines and availability of doctors, The New Indian Express reported.Many more are said to be in critical condition, in want of life-saving drugs and medical help. As the death toll mounts, the Maharashtra government has ordered an inquiry by a three-member expert committee. Hasan Mushrif, Maharashtra’s medical education minister, is also scheduled to visit the hospitals to take stock of the situation.At the last count, 24 died in Ghati Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and 35 in Shankarrao Chavan Hospital in Nanded. Among the deceased at the Nanded hospital, 16 were infants.“The guilty will be punished after the findings of the probe committee. We have taken serious cognisance of these incidents and sent a team of minister, secretary, and officers to visit the hospitals in Nanded and Ghati in Aurangabad and submit a report,” chief minister Eknath Shinde said.Although officials initially tried to downplay the incident in Nanded, district information office (DIO) confirmed the fatalities, urging people not to panic.“The facts related to the death of patients at Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital is as follows: 24 deaths between September 30 and October 1; seven deaths between October 1 and 2. Please do not panic. A team of doctors is ready,” the DIO said, according to The Hindu.According to former chief minister and Congress leader, Ashok Chavan, there are 70 other people at the Nanded hospital who are in critical condition. “There are 70 other people in serious condition. We came to know that medicine supply and recruitment of doctors has been stuck due to unknown reasons and that cost the lives of several people. The state government should fix the responsibility and improve the system,” he said, according to TNIE.Maharashtra Congress president, Nana Patole, accused the public health department authorities of demanding a 40% commission in the contracts pertaining to medical supplies, which he alleged was the reason for deaths. He said no lesson has been learnt by the Shinde government even after Thane Municipal Corporation hospital recorded 18 deaths in the second week of August this year.“The public health system in the state is suffering from the disease of corruption and the entire system is on a ventilator. There aren’t enough doctors and staff in government hospitals and there is also a shortage of medicines. The equipment in the hospitals is dysfunctional and lying idle. If this is the state of health services in major cities, one can only imagine the condition in rural hospitals. A culpable homicide case under IPC 302 should be filed against the state government,” Patole demanded.Nationalist Congress Party chief, Sharad Pawar, also hit out at the government. “Just two months ago, there was an unfortunate incident where 18 people died in a single night in Kalwa Hospital of Thane Municipal Corporation. However, due to not taking this incident seriously, such a very serious incident was repeated in the government hospital in Nanded. This shows the failure of government systems,” he said.Congress national president, Mallikarjun Kharge, called for a probe into the deaths. “The news of the death of 24 patients, including 12 infants, in a civil hospital in Nanded, Maharashtra is extremely painful, serious and worrying. It is being said that these patients died due to a lack of medicines and treatment. A similar incident took place in a government hospital in Thane in August 2023 in which 18 patients lost their lives,” he said.