12 patients at the district Covid Hospital in Chamarajanagar Town in Karnataka died due to lack of oxygen supply during the month of May 2021.
8 people died in Delhi’s Batra Hospital & Medical Research Centre in the same month (May 2021) Among the eight deceased is a doctor, Dr.R.K.Himthani who was the Head of the Gastroenterology Department of the same hospital.
These are just two instances in which deaths have occurred reportedly due to lack of oxygen during the second wave of covid-19 in India but the claim “no deaths due to lack of oxygen have been specifically reported by States” by Minister of State for Health in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday has raised eye brows.
“Detailed guidelines for reporting of deaths have been issued by the Union Health Ministry to all states/UTs. Accordingly, all states/UTs report cases and deaths to Union Health Ministry on a regular basis. However, no death due to lack of oxygen has been specifically reported by states/UTs,” Minister of State for Health Bharati Praveen Pawar, in a written reply to a question raised in Rajya Sabha shared on Tuesday.
Even in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya defended the government on the issue. “…It is wrong to blame the Union ministry over death figures,”
“Whom are you blaming? You are blaming the Indian government, you are blaming Modi Ji. Who does the registration? The states do. Who decides the count? The states do. They have to do the registration, they have to put in the numbers. Here, no one has asked them to stop. Modi Ji said that if there is a backlog put that as well. There is no reason to hide it,” he said.