District Magistrate Priyanka Niranjan reprimands the medical college principal, Prof Dhananjay Shrikant Kotastane, and orders immediate pest control measures
NEW DELHI — Rats were spotted enjoying a field day, unchecked and unhindered, in the orthopaedic ward of the Gonda Medical College in Uttar Pradesh. The viral video of the revelling rats, shared by Congress on Wednesday, has sparked outrage and prompted the District Magistrate to order pest control measures.
“Take a look at the scene from Gonda Medical College in UP. Here, in the ward meant for humans, the rats are having a field day. Fat and thin, round and plump… all sorts of rats are scampering here and there. It’s as if this ward in the medical college isn’t for humans—it’s for the rats,” the Congress wrote on its X account sharing the clip.
Media reports reaching here said the video shows a patient asleep on a bed in a ward at Gonda Medical College, with his medication placed on a steel rack beside him. Rats are seen climbing a rod next to the bed and attempting to tear open a packet, believed to contain food.
More than half a dozen rats are visible scurrying from one side of the bed to the other.
Netizens were outraged with one user writing on X platform: “This is double engine ki sarkar.”
According to reports, the video was filmed by a patient who was admitted to the same ward two days ago, exposing the poor healthcare standards at the government facilities.
Following the viral footage, Gonda District Magistrate Priyanka Niranjan reprimanded the medical college principal, Prof Dhananjay Shrikant Kotastane, and ordered immediate pest control.
Media reports quoted Prof Kotastane as saying that foods brought by the patients’ relatives attract rats. He assured that patients’ hygiene and safety would not be compromised and confirmed that an inquiry has been launched to determine accountability.
Last September, two infants died following rat bites in the neonatal ICU of the government-run Maharaj Yashwantrao Hospital in Indore.
These cases have once again highlighted the urgent need for proper sanitation and strict supervision in healthcare facilities.
