In an appalling case reported from upper Assam,at least 45 newborns have died at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) betweenOctober 1 and 20.

According to JMCH Superintendent Saurav Borkakoti, the infants' deaths were not due to medical negligence or neglect of the hospital. He further clarified that the JMCH had no infrastructure deficiency as the patient-doctor ratio was "fine" with equipment.

In view of the increasingnumber of delivery cases in the hospital, there is a high demand for increasingthe Special Care Newborn Baby Unit (SCNU) beds and provisions are underway tofurther increase the number of such beds.