Two days after the death of 11 COVID patients at the SVR Ruia Government Hospital owing to the reported disruption in oxygen supply, the opposition parties have accused the authorities of not releasing the actual number of fatalities.
BJP leaders submitted a representation to the government through Chittoor Collector, demanding a judicial probe into the tragedy, apart from a compensation of ₹25 lakh to the kin of the deceased. In the memorandum submitted to Revenue Divisional Officer Kanaka Narasa Reddy on Wednesday, they alleged that the authorities had fudged the death figures and pegged it at eleven, though it was ‘higher’.
‘Make records public’
BJP State spokespersons G. Bhanuprakash Reddy pointed out that Chittoor president of BJP Dalit Morcha T.S. Rama Rao, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital, had been declared dead officially, but his name was not mentioned in the list of deceased announced as victims.
“The State government is lying. The statement that only eleven people had died in the tragedy is far from the truth. The death number is being fudged to safeguard the government,” charged Telugu Desam Party (TDP) State spokesperson N.B. Sudhakar Reddy. He demanded that the authorities make the hospital records public. Telugu Yuvatha leader A. Ravi Naidu also took out a candle light rally.
Congress Working Committee (CWC) member P. Chinta Mohan claimed that the hospital had admitted more patients than its full capacity. “The inexperienced administrators are to blame for the tragedy,” he said.
CPI national Secretary K. Narayana claimed that 23 patients died in the mishap. “When we even have the names, how can you hide the facts under the carpet?,” he asked, while showing a list of names.
The Ruia hospital, a COVID-designated facility, has officially announced the number of deaths as 25 on May 10 (recorded between 9 a.m. on May 9 to 9 a.m. on May 10), which rose to 47 on May 11 (recorded between 9 a.m. on May 10 and 9 a.m. on May 11), which dipped to 24 on May 12. The rise is the number is attributed to deaths of COVID patients, but it could not be independently verified if they were undergoing treatment in the same ward where the tragedy occurred.
Meanwhile, TDP senior leader P.R. Mohan has filed a complaint at the Alipiri police station on Wednesday, demanding action against the SVR Ruia government hospital authorities.
