**Bhubaneswar:** Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to each of the bereft families in the aftermath of the major fire mishap at SUM Hospital here on Monday evening.
Prior to that, the CM had on the day of incident ordered a Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) level inquiry.
The CM had also announced that medical expenses of those injured admitted to several government and private hospitals will be borne by the State Government from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Notably, Vice Chancellor of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University Prof Amit Banerjee had on Tuesday announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of deceased.
Meanwhile, death toll in the fire mishap reached 21 on Wednesday with the death of a woman undergoing treatment at Bhubaneswar AIIMS.
The deceased has been identified as Janaki Hui of Jaleswar in Balasore district.
It may be recalled that 20 patients undergoing treatment at SUM Hospital had died due to asphyxiation owing to the massive fire that originated from the Dialysis Ward and spread to the Medicine ICU on the first floor on Monday evening.
At least 19 persons died on the day of the incident while another succumbed on Tuesday at AIIMS during treatment.
In the incident, over 100 people sustained injuries and were shifted to various government and private hospitals.
