News Digest

Eight Indian women die, dozens in critical condition after mass sterilisation

Eight women have died in India and dozens others were hospitalised, many in critical condition, after a state-run mass sterilisation programme, a local official said on Tuesday. More than 80 women underwent sterilisation at the free government-run camp in the central state of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, but many fell ill shortly afterwards, the official told AFP. Television footage showed women on stretchers being rushed into hospital with anxious relatives by their side.

Reports of a drop in pulse, vomiting and other ailments started pouring in on Monday from the women who underwent surgery. Since Monday eight women have died and 64 are in various hospitals.

Sonmani Borah, the commissioner for Bilaspur district where the camp was held

Local governments in India often offer incentives such as cars and electrical goods to couples volunteering for sterilisation to try to control the country’s billion-plus population. Authorities in eastern India came under fire last year after a news channel unearthed footage showing scores of women dumped unconscious after undergoing surgical procedures at a hospital that was not equipped to accommodate such a large number of patients.