The SCB Medical College ICU had a sprinkler system. Someone had closed its valve. The fire alarm had been off for days. Odisha had spent Rs 320 crore on hospital fire safety that year. Twelve patients died. The Health Minister’s assurance to the Assembly: next year’s allocation is Rs 400 crore.
At 2:30 am on March 16, 2026, a fire broke out in the trauma care ICU of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack — Odisha's largest and most senior government hospital — while 23 critically ill patients slept. Preliminary investigation found the sprinkler system’s control valve had been manually closed and the fire alarm had been disabled for several days before the incident. Twelve patients died. The state suspended four officials. In the Assembly, opposition parties demanded Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling’s resignation for the fourth consecutive day. The minister did not resign. Instead, he told the House that Rs 320 crore had been spent on fire prevention systems across state hospitals in 2025-26, and that Rs 400 crore has been allocated for 2026-27 — the first time, he noted, dedicated budgetary provisions have been made for hospital fire safety. A Judicial Commission of Inquiry has been ordered. The question of who closed the valve, and who switched off the alarm, and why, remains the subject of that inquiry.