Babies delivered by candlelight, CM says it was an emergency

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat Friday downplayed the nine deliveries by candlelight at a government hospital recently, saying it was an emergency.

Candles had to be lit to perform the deliveries in an emergency. Do you want to say they should not have been lit?" Rawat snapped when asked about the incident.

Nine deliveries were conducted using candlelight and torches at the Government Doon Medical College Hospital here due to power outage for several hours from 8 pm Tuesday.

The chief minister said Doon Hospital has all the facilities.

Due to a technical fault in the generator on a day when the sole electrician of the hospital was on leave, the power could not be restored, forcing doctors to conduct deliveries by candlelight.

Power was restored at the hospital over 14 hours later at 10 am on Wednesday.

Chief medical superintendent of the hospital's women wing, Meenakshi Joshi, said, "The inverter was not taking the load and the electrician was not available.

I have written to the authorities about the situation the staff and the patients had to face," she said.