The reported discrepancies in COVID-19 death toll in Mysuru City have come under a scanner with former Minister S.R. Mahesh and former MLA M.K. Somashekar accusing the district administration authorities of under-reporting the deaths in the pandemic.
While Mr. Somashekar, a Congress leader and former MLA representing Krishnaraja assembly constituency, cited the wide discrepancies in the Government data and the actual number of COVID-19 deaths in the City due on Friday and Saturday, former Minister and K.R. Nagar’s JD (S) MLA S.R. Mahesh came out with an entire list of names and addresses of COVID-19 patients, who had been laid to rest in crematoriums and burial grounds in the City from May 1 to 29.
Though a total of 969 persons dying due to COVID-19 had been laid to rest at the crematoriums and burial grounds in the City from May 1 to 29, the War Room data released by the Mysuru district administration showed only 238 deaths during the period, alleged Mr Mahesh at a press conference here on Monday.
Sharing the list with the media, he said anybody was free to confirm the deaths by visiting the addresses and speaking to the relatives of the deceased.
Mr Mahesh’s accusation came a day after Mr Somashekar sought to highlight the discrepancies COVID-19 deaths in Mysuru City. According to Mr Somashekar, the War Room had reported only 12 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, but the actual deaths on the day were 34. Similiarly, on Saturday, the district administration reported 19 COVID-19 deaths in the City, but the last rites of a total 33 persons were performed that day – 8 at Vijaynagar crematorium, 2 at Jayanagar cemetery, 12 at Jodi Thenginamara cemetery, 8 at Muslim Khabarasthan and 3 at Christian burial ground, he said.
Mr Mahesh accused the district administration of deliberately misleading the public by showing only a fourth of the actual COVID-19 deaths taking place between May 1 and 29. He said the families of the deceased, whose names do not figure in the list of the dead, will be denied of compensation if the Government announces the same in future.
Though he said he planned to soon carry out a similar exercise for the entire district since the pandemic began, Mr Mahesh said he will be lodging a complaint with the State Human Rights Commission against the alleged under reporting of the deaths. He said copies of the complaint will be given to Governor Vajubhai Vala as well as Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa seeking a detailed probe into the lapses.
Mr Mahesh said he had to carry out the study to expose the “lie” in the claims of Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru Rohini Sindhuri that the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) in Mysuru was lower than many other districts of the State.
Though the CFR of Mysuru was a low 0.62 per cent for the last seven days as on May 27, the cumulative CFR of Mysuru was a higher 1.1 per cent, which is the same as the state average.
