8 Women Die In Sterilization Drive In India

At least eight women died at a sterilization camp held in Central India's state of  Chattisgarh, Saturday,  and another 50 were hospitalized, according to Indian health officials.

Eighty three women between the ages of 26 and 40 were operated upon by one doctor and an assistant, according to the villagers, reports BBC. The women started complaining of pain soon after the procedure.

According to witnesses, the conditions at the clinic were deplorable and unhygienic. "They just operated on them and left them. It's a desolate place, there are no facilities there," DR Shinde told the Associated Press.

The government has suspended four health officials.

Reports say the women started complaining of pain and fever soon after being operated on. A relative described the conditions at the clinic as appalling.

Preliminary reports say that the deaths were caused due to infection , shock and blood loss, reports the Press Trust of India. Doctors say that the condition of 20 out of the 50 hospitalized women  is very serious.

"Their condition is very serious. Blood pressure is low, so keeping the circumstances in mind, we are now concentrating on treating them, not on what caused this," Dr Ramesh Murty, a doctor treating the victims said, reports the BBC

Sterilization camps are common in India where they are offered as a contraceptive method to curb the rising population, which has crossed over 1 billion, according to the last census figures.

Mostly poor people and mainly females opt for these and they are even offered monetary incentives.