Bengaluru: Horticulture Department authorities at Lalbagh don’t seem to have learnt any lesson from the death of a seven-year-old girl, Vaishnav Prasad, who was stung by a swarm of bees during the Independence Day Flower Show last year. In a similar incident, two youngsters were stung by a swarm of honeybees at the I-Day Flower Show at Lalbagh on Sunday.
Suraj and Jitendra Kumar, both 24 years old and cousins, had entered the gardens through the west gate and were attacked by the bees soon after. They were rushed to a medical camp, run by Mahaveer Jain Hospitals, and were given first-aid and anti inflammation injections.
Dr Mahendra, who treated them, said, “We gave them Avil and Hypercortisone injections. They were stung on the head by a swarm of maybe 7-8 bees. They were brought in almost immediately. They were discharged after two hours when they were stabilised.”
On the last year’s incident, the doctor said that Vaishnavi had been attacked by over 150 bees. Though she had been rushed to a private hospital nearby, she stopped responding to treatment and died.
After the tragedy, the Horticulture Department, which manages Lalbagh, had moved the beehives to the Banerghatta National Park.
“This year, too, our entomologists identified the potentially dangerous hives and moved them before the show. But this is nature, we cannot predict anything. The victims were given immediate medical attention” said Dr Jagdish, Director of the Department of Horticulture.
