Breathlessness leaves four councillors hospitalised, others visit Panyong Lake
Councillors Raj Bala Malik, Heera Negi and Chandravati Shukla taken to hospital a day after reaching Leh
MC councillors’ five-day trip to Leh turned a nightmare for many of them, as at least three councillors were hospitalised due to breathing troubles.
Pappu Shukla, husband of councillor Chandravati Shukla, who is among the 24 councillors undertaking the tour, confirmed that his wife was admitted in a hospital for some hours on Wednesday due to breathlessness.
He said another two councillors — Raj Bala Malik and Heera Negi — also suffered similar problem and were hospitalised.
“I was worried for my wife as I could not speak to her due to connectivity issues after a brief interaction on Tuesday. I got to speak to her on Thursday night, and asked her not to travel anywhere and stay in the hotel,” Pappu said.
Sources confirmed that the health of another female councillor, Sheela Phul Singh, also deteriorated on Thursday. She is said to be stable after treatment at a nearby military hospital where others were also treated.
The group of 24 councillors and two MC officials had planned the five-day trip to Leh, starting Tuesday, to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Pathar Sahib as part of Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary celebrations.
Sources said after one day of acclimatisation on Tuesday, the group were done with their gurdwara visit on Wednesday.
On Thursday, majority of them visited the scenic Pangong Lake. Mayor Rajesh Kumar Kalia and senior deputy mayor Hardeep Singh were also part of the group that visited the water body. “This is sheer wastage of public money,” said RTI activist RK Garg. “While the city is suffering due to bad roads and other development issues, councillors are travelling with no concern for the city,” he said.
MC has sanctioned ₹11 lakh for the trip. While ₹4 lakh were spent on air tickets, the remaining expense is on food and lodging.
Significantly, while all previous MC tours were undertaken after permission from the UT adviser, this time around, no such nod was sought. UT has yet to take cognisance of the matter.
