Bhandup fire: Sunrise Hospital’s OC was to end on March 31

The staff of Sunrise Hospital outside Dreams Mall on Friday. Pic/Sameer Markande

The Sunrise Hospital in Bhandup West where 10 COVID patients died after a blaze tore through the Dreams Mall on Friday was a temporary facility set up in the wake of the pandemic and its permission was just four days away from expiry. As per documents accessed by mid-day, the hospital on the third floor of the shopping complex was on May 6, 2020 issued an interim Occupation Certificate till March 31, 2021, following the orders of the BMC chief.

"After this, a report regarding the amenities and various issues about the hospital was submitted to the commissioner for due assessment," reads a letter dated October 16, 2020, from the building proposal, a copy of which is with mid-day.

A letter from the local S Ward office health department said that the hospital management had been given due permissions under the Maharashtra Nursing Home Act after approvals from the health department and the fire brigade.

Former Member of Parliament Sanjay Dina PatiI, however, said he had been continuously warning authorities about the illegalities at the hospital.
"I think I should have been more aggressive. It would have saved 10 lives. I had written to the BMC in October 2020 itself that everything was not fine with this hospital," Patil told mid-day.

"There had been a number of violations in the permissions given to the Sunrise Hospital and the civic body should immediately initiate a probe and revoke the part OC issued to it and take action," Patil alleged in a letter dated October 5. He had also called for an immediate inspection of the hospital and the "dangers" that patients had been exposed to.

Timely action could also have saved businesses of about 1,100 shopkeepers, said Patil, as he called for immediate action and adequate compensation. "It was just four days away from the expiry of the permission. We would not have allowed it to function after that, and they would have had to shift patients then," he said.

While BMC officials refused to comment on the matter, the hospital issued a statement saying it followed the rules. The hospital said, "There was a fire in the first floor of Dreams Mall, Bhandup, and the smoke reached up to the Sunrise Hospital located at the top floor. All fire alarms beeped and hence all patients were safely evacuated due to the smoke to the fire refuge area. This hospital was started in exceptional circumstances of Covid-19 last year and has helped in saving many patients from Covid-19 deaths. It was functioning with all due compliances like fire licence and nursing home licence."