New Delhi/Jaipur, January 2: Amid the row over rising number of death of infants in Rajasthan gaining political momentum, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Thursday informed the media that the Central government has written to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and requested him to look into the matter. Vardhan also assured all kind of support from Central government's side.

Speaking to the media on the Kota row, the Union Minister said, "I have written a letter to Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot requesting him to look into the matter. We have assured all kind of support from our side. Number of deaths is definitely higher this time compared to last few years." Kota Infant Deaths: Toll Crosses 100 in a Month, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot Says Govt 'Monitoring Situation Carefully'.

Here's the ANI tweet:

Earlier, CM Gehlot took to Twitter and assured the people that his government is monitoring the situation carefully and ready for improvement in the health sector. Gehlot also urged media to present the actual facts without bowing down to any pressures.

Here's tweets by CM Gehlot:

Considering the seriousness of the situation after the deaths of infants in Kota's J K Lone Hospital, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi call the Rajasthan Congress incharge Avinash Pandey. She held a meeting with him at 10 Janpath and gave him some instruction to improve the medical condition of government hospital of the state.

Earlier on Tuesday, BJP formed fact-finding four-member women committee -- led by Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee, Kanta Kardam and Jaskaur Meena -- visited the hospital and expressed concerns over its infrastructure. Also, the visit by a team from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on December 23 and 24 had served a show-cause notice to the state government. It had said that their three-member state government committee of doctors found pigs roaming inside the campus of the hospital.

Meanwhile, as per the current records, over 952 infants have lost their lives in a year, while authorities claim that the number of deaths reported at the health facility in 2019 was less than 1,005 in 2018. Hospital authorities even claim that the death of infants rose due to low birth weight. State Health Minister even claim that Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has actually improved under CM Ashok Gehlot government to 5.55 percent in 2019 from 7.62 percent in 2014.

According to the hospital records, 72 infants died in January, 61 in February, 63 in March, 77 in April, 80 in May, 65 in June, 76 in July, 87 in August, 90 in September, 91 in October, 101 in November and 102 (unofficial) in December.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 02, 2020 02:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).