Ahmedabad: Six persons, including a woman and a Class 12 student, havediedofheartattackinGujaratover the last one week whileperforming’garba’ dance as partofthe Navratri celebrations, according to the kin and the statewide 108 ambulance service.
Apart from these six deaths linked to thegarbaevents, 22 other people alsodiedofheartattackinthe state during this period.
The nine-day Navratri festival commenced on October 15.GujaratHealthMinisterRushikesh Patel on Monday held ameetingwith topheartspecialists and doctorsofthe U N Mehta InstituteofCardiology & Research Centre and directed them to collect relevant data and conduct research to find out the exact causeofthese deaths, sources said.
Notably, Uttar Pradesh Governor and former Gujarat ChiefMinisterAnandiben Patel on Sunday expressed concern over this issue and urged thehealthministerto conduct a study to find out the reasons behind the rising numberofheartattacksinthe state.
“Many youngsters suffered heart attacks and died while playing garba during Navratri. We must conduct an analysis of such deaths to find out the reasons. We must conduct an analysis of such deaths to find out the reasons.
Since Rushikeshbhai is also here, I urge him to conduct a study on how many peopledieddue toheartattackinthe last one year,” she saidwhileaddressing a function at Sander villageinPatan district. Citing a research done by the MinistryofHealthand Family Welfareinthis connection, she ruled out a popular belief among the masses that such deaths were happening due to Covid-19.
The six persons whodieddue toheartattackwhileplayinggarbaincluded Veer Shah, a Class 12 student from Kapadvanj towninKheda district. According to his family, Veer fainted due to aheartattackwhileplayinggarbaat a common ground on Friday night.
He was rushed to a hospital but could not be saved, they said. As per recordsofthe ‘108’ ambulance service, 28-year-old Ravi Panchaldieddue to sudden cardiac arrest when he was dancing ongarbatunes at a party plotinHathijan area on the outskirtsofAhmedabadinthe early hoursofSaturday.
InVadodara, 55-year-old Shankar Rana was referred to a hospital on Friday night after he collapsed on agarbagroundinHarni area. He was declared dead on arrival by doctors. Mrunal Shukla (31)ofNavsari district and 46-year-old Raju AalaofPorbandar districtdieddue to the same reason on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
InRajkot, a 47-year-old married woman, Kanchan Saxena, felt uneasy and collapsed after playinggarbaon Friday night. Though she was referred to a hospital, she could not be revived. Apart from these deaths linked togarba, as many as 22 people, including two women,dieddue toheartattackindifferent partsofGujaratduring the last oneweek.
As per the data shared by the ‘108 ambulance service, they received nearly 750 calls related to cardiac emergencies from October 15 to 22. These calls were received between6pm and 2 am, they added. The service received 673 calls during Navratri, which comes to an averageof84 calls per day (673/8), though the authority pointed out that this is less than the 88 calls received during normal days.
Before the Navratri festivities commenced, the stateHealthand Family Welfare Department, through a notification, made it mandatory forgarbaevent organisers to deploy an ambulance and a medical team at the venue to provide immediate aid to participants.
(Published 24 October 2023, 04:56 IST)