PATNA: The explosion in the firecracker factory at Khusrupur once again exposed the inability of the state machinary to cope with disaster of such magnitude.
The block hospital of Khusrupur is hardly 100 feet away from the factory. It is defunct with not a single doctor or nurse was present there when the incident occurred.
Moreover, not a single bed is visible in the dilapidated structure. "Only dogs and cats roam in the campus. Sometimes the premises of the hospital was used by Hakim Mian, owner of destroyed factory, for filling up firecrackers by children," remarked Nirmal Kumar, a resident of the area.
When the tragedy occurred even those with minor injuries had to be taken outside the locality for first aid. There was also complete confusion as crowds swelled and took the fire tenders over three hours to reach the site of the incident.
