Health minister of Assam Keshab Mahanta on Thursday visited the Majuli residence of the 14-year-old teen artist Tejaswita Boruah who died due to alleged medical negligence. The death of the teen artist on Wednesday has sent shockwaves across the state. The minister spoke to the grief stricken parents of Tezaswita and assured them that a thorough investigation will be carried out to determine if there was any negligence on the part of the medical staff. He said that strict action will be taken against anyone if any lapses were found in the treatment of the teen artist.
Tezaswita’s father told the health minister that their daughter died due to negligence of doctors alleging that the hospital could not provide her with proper treatment and medical facilities. He also pleaded with the health minister to build a medical college in the island district so that such incidents doesn’t occur in the future. The health minister was accompanied by Dr MS Lakshmi Priya, Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM), Majuli deputy comissioner Pulok Mahanta, local MLA Bhuban Gam and several health officials. The health minister also visited the Garmur Civil Hospital at Majuli where the teen artist was treated before she died. The minister inspected the ICU facilities at the civil hospital and interacted with the hospital staff. Earlier the superintendent of Garmur Civil Hospital Dr Amulya Goswami was suspended by the health department following the death of the teen artist. Dr Kishore Barman has been appointed as the new superintendent of Garmur Civil Hospital.
On Wednesday, 14-year-old Tezaswita ollapsed on stage while singing at a devotional programme organised on the occasion of Srimanta Sankardeva’s 574th birth anniversary. She was immediately rushed to Gormur Civil Hospital but she died in the hospital nearly two hours later during the course of treatment due to alleged “lack of oxygen cylinders” in the civil hospital. Her family members alleged grave medical negligence on the part of the hospital authority and claimed that the singer could not be saved as the hospital could not provide her with proper treatment and medical facilities. Locals alleged that the Garmur Civil Hospital does not have enough doctors and facilities to deal with emergency situations. It is alleged that Tezaswita was treated by an ophthalmologist after being admitted to the civil hospital due to absence of a medicine doctor. According to doctors she suffered from seizure and died during treatment.
14-year-old Tezaswita, who was a class 9 student of Majuli’s Island Academy mesmerised millions with her song and dance videos, which she would upload on social media. She was especially popular for her Borgeets, a genre of Assamese devotional songs created by 15th-century Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva and his disciple Madhabdeva. Just three days before her death her father had purchased a car so that she could attend cultural functions.