Mumbai:BMC will not extend license of Bhandup’s Sunrise hospital

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to not extend the license of Sunrise hospital in Dreams Mall in Bhandup, where 11 lives were lost due to a blaze on March 25.

In May 2020, the BMC had given a provisional occupation certificate to the hospital as a special case in view of the exceptional circumstances that were created in the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hospital was given temporary permission to function as a COVID hospital and the license was to expire on March 31, 2021.

However, post the massive fire that broke out in the mall, and gradually ascended to the hospital housed on its third floor, BMC additional commissioner Suresh Kakani has made it clear that the hospital will not be allowed to function any further. “We are not going to extend the permission for now. We are very clear that the hospital should get permanent OC and fire NOC, after which we will give them further permission,” he said.

Authorities of the Sunrise hospital had earlier clarified that the fire did not erupt in the COVID centre’s premises, but instead on the first floor of the mall. They have also stated that the hospital had all the required permissions in place, and hence the license to function was given by the civic body.

The BMC has also ordered an enquiry into the incident, the report of which is expected to be submitted by April 10. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, while apologising to the kin of the deceased, had promised that the guilty will be punished and that a thorough probe will be conducted in the case.

The grieving families were also given Rs 5 lakh ex gratia by the state government. Mumbai Mirror