TDP national president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday held the YSRCP government’s “inefficiency” responsible for the death of six COVID-19 patients in Kurnool due to lack of timely supply of oxygen.
In a statement, Mr. Naidu sought to know how many more people should lose their lives because of the “failure of Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy’s administration.”
“Without wasting any time, the government should give top priority to solving the shortage of oxygen in the State,” he said.
“All private hospitals equipped with necessary facilities should be converted into COVID treatment centres, and the number of oxygen beds should be increased on an emergency basis. Better medical care should be provided to the virus-infected patients,” he said.
Mr. Naidu said that the government was not providing correct details on availability of oxygen while patients were losing their lives for want of timely oxygen supply.
He said the government should initiate measures on a war-footing to ensure adequate supply of medical oxygen.
‘Postpone exams’
Earlier, addressing a meeting of the TNTUC and other party leaders on the occasion of May Day, Mr. Naidu demanded that the government postpone the SSC and Intermediate examinations to prevent health threat to the students, their parents, and also the teaching and non-teaching staff.
He said it was unfair to ask the students to appear for their examinations amidst the pandemic fear. The government had announced that the younger lot would have to wait for vaccination in the wake of inadequate stocks. Under these circumstances, asking students to come out of their houses, travel all the way to the exam centres and write their tests made little sense, he argued.
The TDP chief alleged that the government had shun the welfare of both the organised and the unorganised sector workers and employees with its “inefficient and incoherent policies.” Welfare programmes introduced by the TDP such as Anna Canteens and Chandranna Beema, which proved to be of great help to the unorganised workers, were scrapped by the YSRCP government, he said.
Mr. Naidu supported the Work From Home demand of the Secretariat employees, and pointed to the fact that over 10 employees had died due to COVID-19.
