KAKINADA: Kin of people who died due to Covid-19 in East Godavari are running from pillar to post to obtain Covid-19 death certificates, which are mandatory to avail a financial compensation of Rs 50,000. Often seen making a beeline at hospitals and government offices to secure the documents, many relatives complained of delays.
According to official data, the district has reported a total of 1,290 Covid deaths so far. The government, recently, announced Rs 50,000 aid to the families of each Covid deceased, for which submission of death summary, and ICMR and scanning reports are a must.
Tummala Uma Satya Krishna Kumar from Karapa mandal, who lost her father Venkateswara Rao (58) and grandmother Nagamani (77) to the disease in a period of two days in May this year, said, “When they were at the hospital, all we wanted was for them to recover and come back to us. Back then, non of us knew and cared much about the ICMR reports and other records. My father died on May 15 at Kakinada GGH, and grandmother the next day.”
For the past many days, Uma has been frequenting the hospital, DMHO office and the collectorate to get the medical records. Similarly, Mani, whose husband Atthi Chalapathi (30) collapsed to Covid-19 on May 7, was told to obtain the summary and ICMR report. She, along with her two kids, visited the hospital and DMHO office on Monday, but could not get either of them. Dr V Naga Bhusanam, the in-charge of Covid death compensation process in the district, said the government has strictly instructed to provide the compensation amount only after certificates’ verification.